Broken Love
by ObakeAri
Summary: I don't know how or when it happened, but the moment our friendship blossomed into our passionate and forbidden love, we were cursed for as long as we lived in this world. Our forbidden love became both the remedy for our suffering, and the wounds which inflicted it. ItachixOC
1. Prologue

Well, hello again, world! Well, for those of you who have been following me, I'm sorry I haven't posted anything new in Eyes of the Soul or Death's Shadow Walks...I go where my ideas take me! And...I normally don't like venturing in uber popular realms...as much as I love Naruto, I initially had no intention of writing a Naru fanfic because the fanbase is just so...BIG...and I like a little bit of intimacy...but this idea's been bugging me for forever and I had to write it down soooo...here I am!

Oh, and side-note, the character in this story is named Ari, but that's not to be confused with my character name *points to useraname above*. "Ari" has been the name that I have used for the character which typically refers to me, but the Ari in this story is a different person...I just couldn't think of another name for the girl and it suited her well. Just saying in case one day I write a crackfic involving me and my friends, I'm clearing up any potential for confusion now.

ANND, (shamelessly advertising here because I know I'm bound to get more views if I post a story for Naruto...I have no dignity) if you guys who are new to reading my fics and you're fans of either Inuyasha, Okami, Book Thief, Black Butler, or two, or three, or all four of these animes/game/book, you all should totally check out my other two crossover stories! Just saying! Because I'm not shamelessly advertising! XD

Well, anyway, enough of my boring chatter, so without further adue, I give to you, the PROLOGUE of my epic Naruto Fic, with Itachi in all his glory! Except he's not in this chapter! But he will be in the next! And pretty much every one after that! Mostly...

ENJOI

* * *

I come from a huge family.

My mother, Chinatsu Uzumaki, had one sister, my Aunt Mito, but she married into the Senju Clan of the Forest, and the brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, second cousins, great-uncles, grandparents, godparents, great-great-great god-grandparents, cousins of those god-grandparents, and whatever obscure relationship you can think of that my Uncle Hashirama had was impossible to count.

Then there was my father, Kurama. He was the eldest of nine, with six brothers and two sisters, his family was arguably the most powerful of all the world. They were certainly the most feared.

Take, for example, Uncle Shukaku. He is a round, sandy-haired, boistrous man, who is never ever serious, and he smells of rum. Being the youngest of nine, he was picked on the most and my father cursed and considered him the weakest (though that was probably a left-over grudge from a brawl between the two when Shukaku made a sad attempt of hitting on my mother, some time before I was born...needless to say, Dad wiped the floor with him). He is also a bit of an alcoholic. But he is the master of sand, able to move an entire desert if he so chooses, burying entire countries within it.

Then there is Aunt Matatabi. I called her Auntie Tabi when I was little, as I felt her name was too long. I saw her the most out of all my family when I was little, as I think she was closest to my father. And if she wasn't then, she definitely is now, after what has happened between her and I. She's a gentle, but stern woman with dark lavender eyes and long, beautiful sandy-gray hair that has a blue hue if you see it in the right light. She's the mischievous one out of the group. She's quite the acrobat and is very light on her feet. During their time, she was feared as the wind-dancer, because when she attacked her enemies, they would hear a soft whistle in the wind, nothing more, and the next thing they knew, a flash of blue, a cat-like smile, and then complete darkness. Entire clans would be wiped out before she just danced away, without making a sound.

I never saw much of Uncle Isobu or Uncle Saiken, but they're both greatly feared in the Land of Water-Isobu for his impenetrable armor, and Saiken for his ability to absorb anything-attacks, chakra, people...-and then reflect it back at his attackers if he so chooses.

Son Gokuu...he's a little too immature for me to consider him an uncle. Obsessed with his "hard-won" title of the Monstrous Ape in the West (because really, when you're a giant, four-tailed monkey, that decides one day to lift up a mountain and set it on top of a village, it's _so_difficult to be feared by normal people...), Son is a hairy and boisterous man who gets along best with Shukaku. Really, you don't want those two in a room together. You don't know what will get broken. Just hope it isn't you. Or your village. Or your country...

Aunt Choumei is a filghty little thing. In my opinion, she is more of a wind-dancer thant Auntie Tabi considering the fact that she could actually fly, but hey, I'm not the one who comes up with nicknames! A playful (and remarkably lucky) woman, Choumei never really took part in disturbing the peace like her siblings, instead she preferred to maintain a peaceful life traveling (and gambling-that woman was _rich_during their time) and enjoying time to herself.

Then...Uncle Gyuuki...they say that Gyuuki and my father were the most serious out of the nine, considering that they were the oldest, but my god, I don't think that man has smiled a day in his life (which his funny when you consider the fact that his best friend is the biggest joker I know, second only to Naruto). When I was younger, I thought he hated me. Whenever I walked into the room, he would glare his fierce maroon eyes at me and grunt something or other at my father in disapproval before storming out the room. Only now looking back do I realize that Uncle Gyuuki's harsh demeanor was result of his concern for my well-being. A child of mixed blood. A half-breed. I was not one for this world. In a way, I'm still not. Gyuuki couldn't understand why my father, the great Kurama, the strongest of the tailed beasts, would fall in love with a human woman. And then conceive a child with her of all things. How long I would be able to survive in a world drenched in the blood of war was an unknown.

And it was for that reason, that I spend my early childhood feeling indescribably lonely.

Yes, I came from a huge family-it was more like two huge families, three if you separate the Uzumaki and the Senju clans-but that is exactly what it was: two families. Unlike typical marriages, there would be no union of families upon my parents' wedding day. You really couldn't call it a wedding day. You couldn't even call it eloping. And when I was born...well...that's when the real trouble began. My mother, father, and I lived as nomads. We couldn't settle in one place for too long, or shinobi would find us. That wouldn't start out as trouble, my father and I looked human enough. In fact, my mother would appear relieved when we ran into a group of shinobi. They would recognize my mother's Uzumaki red hair, and plea for her assistance in exchange for a place where a wandering and troubled family could seek refuge from war.

But the welcome could only last so long.

My father was unaccustomed to human interaction. And he was arrogant. He would struggle with getting along with the other shinobi...and on the battle field he just seemed...too strong. At first the shinobi would love it. His power on their side was heaven-sent! But there was something intimidating about his blood-red eyes. The way he sauntered around, arms crossed, his thick auburn hair pulled in a tight, tail-like ponytail that seemed to compliment eight sashes attached to his belt around his wait a little too perfectly. They would watch my mother, as kind as she was, she knew a little too much about the threats of the tailed beasts which they desperately hunted, but she wouldn't reveal enough of her knowledge to them. And then I, a little girl with her father's hair and her mother's ice-blue eyes, a playful and innocent girl, she seemed a little too accustomed to the horrors of war. Then rumors would float around of an Uzumaki, the sister of the First Hokage's wife, who supposedly tamed the Nine-Tailed Fox but then fell in love with it and betrayed the newly founded Village Hidden in the Leaves, running away. Suspicions would rise. I would wake with a start in the middle of the night. It was time to leave.

"It's the Kyuubi! Let's capture it!"

"And the girl! She must be powerful!"

How greedy humans can be sometimes...

But each time, no matter what the numbers, my father would wipe them all out in an instant, transforming from a wild-looking man to a monstrous nine-tailed fox, he would annihilate them in a matter of minutes.

And then we would move on.

And this pattern continued until one day we were approached by one man, and one-man alone.

"Nine-Tails..." the man said.

Father raised an eyebrow and instinctively stepped in front of Mother and me. Mom grasped my hand within hers and slowly began to reach for her katana.

"Hmph, you know who I am and yet you dare to face me alone? That certainly takes guts. Or a massive amount of stupidity," Father growled.

"My intention is not to fight you," the man said, "only to guide you. You see, you serve a greater purpose in life than this petty existence you wander in now."

Peering from behind my mother, I took a good long look at the man. He had long, wild, and dark hair. His face was aged from frown-lines and fighting. His eyes appeared tired yet fierce, and within them, I couldn't help but notice an intricate design in his red irises. I had heard of the Sharingan before, but this looked like something completely different.

And after what happened, I never forgot his face. Or those eyes.

"Oh please, you are a pathetic human, nothing more. Uchiha or not, you made a serious mistake approaching me alone."

At that, mother lifted her hand from her katana and placed it firmly on Dad's shoulder. "Watch it, Kurama," she warned, "this man is different from other shinobi...and I don't particularly like the aura coming from him."

"You should listen to Lady Chinatsu, Fox," the man scoffed, "I, like you, am not one who enjoys being trifled with."

Mom stiffened, "who are you?"

The man gave an evil grin, "Madara Uchiha."

I will never forget that name. I will never forget that grin. And I will never forget his eyes...

What happened after that was a blur. More words were exchanged, but Madara went after me first. He cursed me: "Filthy half-breed, you are nothing but a nuisance!"

That wouldn't be the last time the term "half-breed" was used in scorn towards me.

I had been struck in the head, and all I can remember are flashes: my father was provoked to change into his true form. Mother carried me away. He attacked us. Mother shielded me. Lots of blood. Father's roar of anguish before falling under the control of the Mongekyo Sharingan, and being forced to kill us. Tears falling from his fiery eyes for the first and last time. Mother smiling at me, exhausted, bloody, her life fading.

"My dear child," she told me, "this world is not safe for you...I don't know what world is, but I feel that peace will befall this land in the future. But not after great adversity. You are the bridge between shinobi and bijuu...you are the only one who understands both sides, and for that reason I have a feeling you will help pilot the road to peace...so please...live on...live on in another time...a safer...world..."

Mother's body began to glow and then a flash of light. And that was the last time I saw either of my parents.

When I woke up, I was lying down in the same place, but a red-haired woman in a green vest and a headband with Konoha's symbol engraved on it stared down at me.

"M-mommy?" I asked. My skull pounded against the dirt and my vision was so blurry, that this woman who stood over me looked almost exactly like my mom.

"Kushina, what is it?" a man's voice asked. The lady knelt down and pulled me into her arms. I looked up to see a blond-haired, blue-eyed man with the same headband as the woman eyed me curiously.

"Minato, I found her lying on the ground. She looks like she hit her head pretty hard," the lady said.

"Wh-where's my mommy?" I asked, tears welling in my eyes, "and what did that man do to Daddy?"

"What do you mean?" the lady asked, "no one is around, did you lose your parents?"

Scared, I nodded my head.

"What do they look like?" the man asked gently, "we can help you find them."

I shook my head, not sure if I could trust this man. But the man smiled and held out his hand, "I'm Minato Namikaze, I'm the Hokage. I'm here to protect you, there's no need to be scared."

At that I furrowed my eyebrows, confused, "I thought Uncle Hashirama was the Hokage..."

Kushina and Minato exchanged very confused glances. Surely this girl suffered head trauma, they must've thought.

Minato laughed and explained, "Hashirama was the First Hokage. I'm the Fourth Hokage."

I nodded my head, still confused, but I reached out and grasped onto his hand.

"You can come with us, and we'll help you find your parents, does that sound good?" Kushina asked.

I smiled and nodded, wiping tears from my eyes, "okay!"

"Great!" she said, "now, what do they look like?"

I began by pointing at Kushina, "well, my mommy looks a lot like you!" I said, "she's really pretty and has long red hair, just like you! Except her eyes are like mine."

Kushina smiled, "oh, so she's an Uzumaki?"

I nodded my head.

Minato leaned over to Kushina and murmured, "I haven't seen anyone from your clan in the village lately..."

Kushina shrugged, "perhaps they passed by and we missed them? They're bound to show up looking for their daughter sooner or later. Anyway, dear, what does your father look like?"

"Well, Daddy has long brown hair like me and red eyes...well, when he looks like us, at least."

At that Kushina and Minato gave me very confused looks.

"What do you mean, 'when he looks like us'...?" Minato asked, his voice low. I froze. Uh-oh...I wasn't supposed to talk about Daddy like that.

"Ummm..." I stammered, "I can't say."

Kushina smiled warmly and urged me to continue, "it's okay, dear, you can tell us anything."

"But normally people hate me when they know who Daddy is..." I sighed, my shoulders sagging.

"Well, I won't hate you, no matter what," Kushina promised.

I looked up and held out my pinkie, "promise?"

"I promise," Kushina said, pinky-swearing with me.

I sighed and began, "Well, my Daddy isn't like you guys. He's not human. He's really a giant fox!"

Kushina's face paled and she stiffened. Minato instinctively placed a hand on his weapon's pouch. At the age of four, I could never understand why people would react in such ways towards me when they found out what I was-what my father was. I was so young and naive, immune to fear of things that we don't understand. Because I was essentially everything most people didn't understand: Tailed Beasts, mysterious chakra, unconditional love...

"Oh dear God..." Kushina muttered out loud.

At that, my smile fell, and tears welled in my eyes, "you hate me now..." I whimpered.

Kushina snapped out of her trance and forced a fearful smile, "no I don't! I promised you, didn't I?"

"Honey, what is your name?" Minato asked urgently.

I turned to him and politely answered, "Ariala Uzumaki. Ari for short."


	2. Chapter 1

And now for Chapter 1 of this story! And we get to see a lil' baby Ita! ^_^ So...this story will basically go through the life of Itachi and Ari...it will, for the most part, follow the storyline of Naruto so...it'll be a bit tragic for the two along the way...and yeah...but anyway,

ENJOI

* * *

It didn't take long for me to realize what my mother had done in her last few moments. I had been to Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, only once before, but I knew that there was no way in hell a village could grow that large or this advanced in a matter of months.

Mom was known as the Woman who Tamed the Nine Tails when she was alive. The Uzumaki clan is known for their strong chakra and long life span, but Mom's was unique even among them. She had a distinct chakra-chain style of jutsu which she favored, but what she was most known for was her regenerative abilities. She was just about impossible to wound, and was rumored as a psychic. Well, I know she was psychic because I managed to inherit that from her. When she was at her best, she could bring 100 lives back from the dead with the entirety of her life force alone. So for a small fraction of her energy, reviving one or two individuals was nothing.

But when Madara wounded her—I still can't remember what all happened—she shouldn't have died from those wounds if she didn't want to.

But she made a different choice.

I assume that when she realized that Madara had the upper hand over my father, she knew it would be either me or her. She was weakened, but with the remainder of her life, she could shield me, among other things.

And for whatever reason, she chose to send me to the arms of the Fourth Hokage's wife. And from there, I would soon meet the son of her best friend, and allow our lives to intertwine and tangle in a beautifully tragic way.

And this, my friends, is where the real story begins.

* * *

**Minato**

"What are you saying, Minato?" the Third Hokage asked. The news had visibly startled him. Minato still wasn't sure that he believed it himself.

"I'm saying that this little girl is claiming to be the rumored child of Chinatsu Uzumaki and the Kyuubi," Minato repeated.

The Third Hokage grimaced and took a long puff of his pipe, "And how is Kushina taking the news?"

"She's insisting on looking after the girl," Minato explained, "I don't know why, but Kushina's been very protective of Ari since we brought her home. And Ari really does seem to look up to us…"

"Do you two plan to keep her?"

"Well, erm…" honestly, Minato hadn't thought that far in advance. Everything happened so fast, "well, I don't think we can send her to an orphanage. And we promised Ari that we'd protect her. Lord Third, I know the threats, and I know the stories, but Ari is totally different than what the stories are telling us. And the way she talks about her parents…I think there's more to this little girl and her father than we have been willing to understand for centuries."

"I have no doubt about that, Minato, just…be very careful," Lord Third warned, "you and Kushina are planning on starting a family, and I fear that if all you say is true, the Nine Tails could become dangerous."

"How so? I mean, I know about what could happen to Kushina's seal, but—"

"Minato, you are not a father yet, so it's difficult to understand," the Third Hokage said, "but a parent will do anything to protect their child if they believe that child to be in danger. And having been sealed for almost seventy years, and then suddenly discovering that its daughter is residing with its Jinchuuriki and her husband…who knows what the Kyuubi thinks."

"Understood," and with that, Minato left.

On his way home, Minato mulled over everything that had happened over the past week. It was hard for Minato to shake off the fact that Ari wasn't human. What was even harder to shake off was the attachment Ari had for Kushina. But nonetheless, that girl was a cute kid.

Minato smiled to himself, "well, we have been wanting to start a family…"

"Minato!" the Fourth Hokage turned around to see an all too familiar face waving and running towards him.

"Oh, hey, Mikoto! How are you?" Minato asked his wife's best friend, Mikoto Uchiha. She brought her son, Itachi in tow, who dashed as fast as his little legs could take him as he tried to keep up with his newly pregnant mother. Mikoto's baby bump was already starting to show, but that didn't seem to slow the energetic woman down one bit.

"I am doing very well, thank you," Mikoto smiled, "Kushina told me that you two have a little girl staying with you."

"Oh yeah? Is that all she told you?" Minato asked. Dammit, Kushina…he loved that woman but sometimes she didn't know when to stop talking…and if people started to find out about Ari then…well..

"Well, yeah, is there something else I should know?" Mikoto joked, "anyway, I was just on my way over to visit you guys. I thought I'd bring Itachi along too. He's been needing someone his age to play with."

"Well great!" Minato said, slightly relieved. He then knelt down to Itachi and said, "and how are you, today, Itachi? Are you excited to meet a new friend?"

Itachi, as young as he was, he was a very mature kid. The boy smiled politely, not afraid of talking to adults and said, "I'm doing good. And yes, I heard Ari was the same age as me. How are you?"

"Well, I am just dandy!" Minato said in a silly tone, which made Itachi laugh. Inviting them to follow, the trio walked to his home, where Kushina and Ari awaiting, getting lunch ready for their guests.

* * *

**Ari**

Kushina-Sensei said that a new friend was coming over to play with me. After a week in the village, I was getting acquainted with the people of Konoha, and I had gotten to know the neighbors. I really liked it here. It was calm, I had a nice warm bed to sleep in at night, and everybody was nice to me, especially Kushina and Minato, and they even knew what I was! But still they told me not to tell anyone about my daddy. They said that some people were afraid of my daddy, that lots of time had passed since the day Madara attacked us, and they said that stories about my daddy had been twisted into bad rumors and now people were scared of him, because they didn't understand him. I accepted that fact and happily took on the role of playing an orphaned girl who was taken in by the Hokage and his wife.

But in all my short life, I don't think I had ever had a true friend before. Not to mention, I don't think I'd ever played with someone my age. Frankly, I wasn't too sure I knew exactly how to play…

"Oh, it's easy!" Kushina tried to explain to me, "you um…well, you can do all sorts of things! Like, play house! And you can pretend to be different things or people! Or you can run around and play tag!"

When I wasn't getting it, I started to panic about embarrassing myself in front of my new friend, so Kushina went back up to the phone and called my new friend's mommy back.

"Hey, Mikoto, I have a question…" Kushina asked, slightly nervous.

"Yeah?" I heard Mikoto's voice answer.

"Um…how good is Itachi with other kids his age?" Kushina asked.

"Well, since he's not in school yet, the only other kids he has to play with are Shisui and Saya, but he's really good with them. He and Shisui tend to rough-house a bit, but he's really sweet with Saya…why?" Mikoto asked.

"Well, Ari seems to have had a tough childhood so far and…" then Kushina whispered, "I don't think she really knows how to play…"

"What?" Mikoto asked in partial disbelief.

"I know it sounds weird, but Ari's getting a bit nervous about meeting Itachi. She hasn't been around kids her age before," Kushina-Sensei explained.

At that Mikoto let out an audible sigh, "Oh, geez, Kushina…the things you get yourself into…well, I'll tell you what, I'll talk to Itachi and tell him to go easy on Ari. How does that sound?"

"Oh that sounds great, Miko! Thanks, and sorry, Itachi is a great kid, I just didn't want Ari to get too worked up about this, you know?" Kushina said.

"Oh yeah, I totally understand! I'll see you in a bit, okay?" And with that, the two hung up.

"So…Ita won't make fun of me for not knowing how to play?" I asked skeptically, rocking from my heels to my toes and back.

Kushina-Sensei knelt down and smiled, "no, of course, not dear! He's going to show you how to be a kid your age, how does that sound?"

I giggled and spun around shouting, "That's great!"

Kushina went ahead and finished making lunch and I helped out as best as a four-year-old could. It was shortly after we finished setting the table when Minato opened the door, coming home from his visit with the Third Hokage.

"Minato! Minato! I called out, I'm going to learn how to play!" I shouted cheerfully, but then I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a dark-haired pregnant woman standing behind Minato holding the hand of a boy who looked about my age.

"Hey, honey!" Kushina welcomed as she exchanged a hug and a kiss with Minato. She then turned her attention to the woman behind him and the two women exchanged a giddy and excited greeting as they hugged, "So, how's the baby?" Kushina asked.

"How's the baby, what about me?" Mikoto joked, "And what about you? When are you guys going to get busy, huh?"

"We're working on it," Kushina stuck her tongue out at Mikoto.

I ignored the two's exchange, my eyes focused only on the boy before me. He had dark hair, slightly lighter than his mother's, and he had dark, powerful eyes. Those eyes…they were all too much like Madara's…they scared me.

But then the boy did something that forever changed my perspective of him. He smiled, and it was then when I realized that as powerful as his eyes were, their gentleness were all the more powerful. He had kind eyes, welcoming eyes. I could feel safe within their gaze. And it was that gaze that forever trapped me.

I smiled shyly back at the boy, shrugging my shoulders as if I were trying to hide.

"Hi," the boy said, "I'm Itachi, do you want to be my friend?"

"I'm Ari," I said.

"Hi, Ari, what would you like to play?" Itachi asked.

"Well," I shifted around nervously, "I don't really know how to play…"

Itachi cocked his head to the side a bit in confusion, but then he smiled again and held out his hand.

"That's okay! I'll show you," he offered sweetly.

My face grew hot and turned a light shade of pink. I reached out and took hold of his small, open hand and we ran out to the backyard. And that small exchange, and my little hand in his, was all it took for destiny to run its course.

I had the time of my life that day, playing ninja, tag, climbing trees, running around like a child. I had finally found a friend.

And I've never let go of that hand since.


	3. Chapter 2

Welp,

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

Ita wiggled nervously on the floor. It was late at night so we couldn't go out. Kushina sat in a rocking chair and attempted to so a blanket for her baby. Minato was working on dinner for the three of us. The house was silent. Today was Sasuke's birthday. But he was a month early.

"Ita?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Mm?" Itachi responded. He always made disgruntled, on syllable responses without opening his mouth whenever he was lying or nervous or both, and after a while, his series of "Hmphs", "Hns", and "Mmms" got really _really_ annoying. But considering his little brother was about to be born premature, I muscled down the need to wring his neck and yell at him to form his words.

"You can talk to me if you need to," I sighed.

"What do you mean?" he asked, slightly confused.

"You're humming again," I pointed out. He raised an eyebrow at first but then his shoulders sagged.

"Oh, sorry…" he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. I narrowed my eyes and groaned…man, he did this a couple weeks ago too on my birthday…I don't know how they found out it was my birthday, but for whatever reason Shisui and Saya and Itachi all got the bright idea to throw me a haphazard surprise birthday party.

Shisui was two years older than us, a curly-haired adventurous boy, he was a first year academy student and a total ladies' man (though once I joined the academy, I realized that that was just an Uchiha thing). Ita looked up to his cousin, the two were practically brothers, but I swear, the only time I ever saw an evil side to Itachi was when he and Shisui were scheming…something.

Saya was Shisui's younger sister, and was the same age as me. It didn't take long for the two of us to become best friends. She too had long curly hair that she kept tied back in pink ribbons and wore the prettiest dresses. I envied how pretty she was…and how tame her hair was. But when those three got the bright idea to throw me a birthday party, Ita was put in charge of keeping me preoccupied while the other two "decorated" our secret hiding place, which was nothing more than a clearing in the forest just outside the village with the best climbing trees and a shallow pond that allowed us kids to exercise our imaginations to the fullest.

The party was a blast, we came home really really muddy when it was time for the actual party which the adults threw us, but man…that entire hour building up to it…

"Ita, let's go to our hideout!"

"Hnnnnnno"

"Why not?"

"mph"

"That's not an answer, Itachi…"

"Ngh."

He's a crappy liar, so I'm guessing he just grunts to avoid having to elaborate on his lies and people will make him out as the silent type and ignore him. But why he grunts when he's nervous…I can't figure out…I think it's partly because he's trying to keep his composure and doesn't want anyone to know how worked up he is. So, he grunts to avoid any more lying. But dear Lord, it's freaking annoying!

And I was getting these same grunts and one-sided conversations he was giving me on that day. I called it his humming, and it always embarrassed him when I pointed it out to him.

"So…what do you need to tell me?" I asked him.

"Nothing!" Ita snapped back, his face red. I jumped back a little. He'd never gotten angry at me before, and for a brief moment, the power in his eyes pushed through the gentleness, and all I could see was the evil man's face that took my parents from me. I let out a whimper, and in response, Ita shrunk away from me, hanging his head down. "I-I'm sorry, Ari…I didn't mean to yell at you…" His bottom lip quivered. I eyed him curiously.

"I think I'll go check on dinner now!" Kushina suddenly interrupted us. Grunting, she hoisted herself out of her chair and made her way into the kitchen, allowing us kids privacy.

"Ita…?" I asked softly, placing my hand on his. In response Itachi peered up at me with the most pitiful expression on his face. I wouldn't see worry like that again until we were both in the ANBU, years later, with an impossible mission on our hands.

"Hn?" he responded, wiping his nose.

I grimaced at his response but continued, "you can tell me what's bothering you…"

At that, Itachi turned away and wiped his eyes furiously, "'m just scared is all…m-my brother is coming too soon…and I'm never heard Mom scream like that before…"

Aw…Ita…without thinking, I wrapped my little arms around his neck in a gentle hug. Itachi whimpered slightly and returned the hug. I patted his soft dark hair, "It's okay," I cooed, "Sasuke and your mommy will be okay."

"I know…" he said, "thanks…"

We spent the rest of the night playing in my room until it was time for bed. Because Ita was anxious and didn't want to be by himself and because I was practically glued to that boy, we both ended up collapsing on the floor in my room. Without a blanket in a chilly house, we both snuggled up close to each other and dozed off.

* * *

**Kushina**

"Those kids were supposed to go to bed hours ago," Kushina groaned as she discovered the light peering through the closed door to Ari's room. But when she opened the door, she found two sleeping kids snuggled close, their foreheads touching, Ari's hand in Itachi's. Kushina had to cover her mouth and suppress a giggle, the sight was so precious. So, being the expectant mother she was, she went and got her camera and took a picture of the two. Then she grabbed a couple pillows to place under the kids' heads, and pulled the quilt from Ari's bed and placed it over the two. She then turned off the light and left.

As she went back to bed, she found Minato reading Jiraiya-Sensei's book. She crawled into bed giggling and Minato looked up at her with a smile.

"What?" he asked.

Kushina in response turned the camera on and showed her husband the picture of the sleeping five-year-olds, "aren't they just adorable?"

"Oh wow…you know, Ari is really attached to Itachi," Minato thought aloud, "I hope she doesn't get her feelings hurt if he tries to branch out and make new friends next year at the academy…"

Kushina raised an eyebrow, "Oh, come on, Minato, they're just good friends. And you know Ari, she holds her friends close to her. She's the same way with Saya."

"Well, yeah," Minato said, "but Itachi was also her first friend. Now, I know that the friends I hung out with changed drastically after I joined the academy. Itachi's going to want to play with the boys his age besides Shisui. I just hope Ari isn't so attached to him that her feelings will get hurt when that happens."

Kushina pursed her lips, "okay, point taken. But as I said, Ari holds her friends close, and she's a fairly social girl. And I'm sure they'll still be friends…though you have to admit, this is a cute picture!"

"Yeah, we should show it to Mikoto tomorrow," Minato said, "you know, she's going to go crazy when she sees it."

"Oh gosh…" Kushina said, "To be honest, I'm going a little crazy. Imagine what they'd think twenty years from now if we pulled it out and showed it to them!"

At that, Minato let out a billowing laughter. The two probably wouldn't want their future spouses to see that photo. But, sometimes a little blackmail didn't hurt. What would be really funny though…

No, Minato wouldn't say it. They were five. Future planning like that was way too soon.

But Kushina verbalized those thoughts anyway, "What would be really funny is if they actually got married!"

Minato chuckled, "Just don't tell Mikoto that."

* * *

**Ari**

From the day we went to the hospital to meet his new brother, Itachi was wrapped around Sasuke's little finger. He loved holding baby Sasuke, and was very protective of the little boy. I loved Sasuke too, he was a cute kid. But, being the greedy little girl I was, I couldn't help but feel a little disdain towards the innocent infant. I began to see Itachi less and less, until I would have to go over to his house and drag him out if I wanted to see him. Even when I was over at the Uchiha's, Itachi wouldn't pay me a second glance.

And once again, I started to feel incredibly, and indescribably lonely.

Looking back, it was kind of stupid of me to feel that way. And our distance from each other back then was probably good for us. I got closer to Saya, and we had sleepovers just about every weekend, and I found I could talk to her about pretty much anything, including boys, things I couldn't talk about with Itachi because, well, he _was_ a boy. All three of us started the academy a few months after Sasuke was born, and suddenly Itachi began accelerating in class and was placed two years ahead of Saya and me and with Shisui. Saya and I both excelled in the ninja academy too. We were considered the dynamic duo and were placed in a higher class as well, with kids much older than us, but still, Itachi just kept moving farther and farther away from me until I hardly saw him.

Until that fateful night on Naruto's birthday.

Saya and Shisui were both out of town with their parents. So the evening before, when the Third Hokage and the village elders came to pay us a visit, Kushina made a phone call to Mikoto just before sitting down to talk with our guests.

"Hey, can you watch Ari tomorrow? I have an appointment and something came up with Naruto," she tried to explain.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" Mikoto responded.

"Yes, yes, everything is fine," Kushina assured, then whispered, "but you-know-what is starting to cause some trouble for me, and we think its best that I have Naruto tomorrow before it weakens anymore. You didn't hear that from me."

I was supposed to be in bed when this happened, but when I heard voices at the front door, I snuck my way downstairs and listened in on that phone conversation. When I heard Mikoto's voice on the other end, my stomach dropped a little. Oh great…I got to spend the day with Mr. Know-it-all-sir-gives-no-craps. The other ladies' man. I didn't hate Itachi, in fact, part of me was excited to finally see him again. But I was so freaking tired of hearing all the girls in class fighting over who would be Ita's first kiss. Who would date Ita. Who would have Ita's kids. Saya and I would just sit awkwardly in the corner with no intention of joining in because really, we couldn't see what the hullaballoo about him was.

"I heard Itachi likes girls with long hair!"

"No! Itachi prefers the tomboys! He needs someone who can keep up with him in battle!"

"Ew! Gross! He only dates the pretty girls!"

"He just needs a friend, that's all!"

I'd roll my eyes and Saya would laugh. In reality, we were the only two girls in the whole class who actually knew Itachi well enough, but Saya was Ita's cousin and I…well…I was considered too wild and I wasn't pretty enough to be considered "Itachi's type" by the other girls. So when some of my classmates saw me walking around town the next day, as Kushina handed me off to Mikoto, as I offered to take baby Sasuke into my arms and carry him all the way back to the Uchiha's, as Itachi greeted _me_ with a big hug and a "I've missed you so much!", I became the first name on the Ninja Academy's #1 Most Wanted List.

But in reality, that was the least of my worries.

It was just after dinner and Mikoto and Fugaku had gone out on an errand, leaving Ita and I to watch Sasuke. Sasuke had gone to sleep so Itachi and I were working on our homework. God…it was so easy…it was too easy. I had been moved up several years ahead with Saya, but I desperately wished I could be in the same class as Itachi and Shisui. They're homework was at least somewhat challenging. And they were learning ninjutsu! I was still stuck on "how to hold a Shuriken properly without stabbing your eyes out like a moron" and "don't eat the funny looking mushrooms when on a mission or you'll hallucinate."

"You okay?" Itachi asked. I sat up, confused, before I realized I had been groaning the whole time.

"Yeah, this is just really really easy…" I groaned, "I wish I was in the same class as you, I mean, I already know chakra control, so why can't I be learning ninjutsu with you guys?"

Itachi nodded and frowned before he let out a "Hmm..yeah…"

I glared at him and then dropped my book on my face before moaning, "Whaaaat?"

"What?" Ita asked.

"You hummed at me," I explained.

"Oh…" Ita's face turned bright red. He hated it when he was caught humming! "Well, it's just…I wish I was with you guys. I mean, the homework in my class is still really easy, but the teachers won't move me up any farther because they're afraid it'll be too hard on me. The kids in my class are a lot bigger…and kind of mean…and…they hate me because I'm in the top of the class. And my dad well…" he paused and looked back to make sure Fugaku was out of hearing range before whispering, "…he won't let me play with my friends anymore. He makes me train all the time."

I frowned. I had no idea how miserable Ita had been feeling. And to think all this time, I hadn't even bothered to see him because I thought he had his own friends in his class. In reality, I was the one who made new friends and left him.

"Why can't you play with your friends?" I asked. Ita shrugged.

"Well, he thinks I'm some kind of genius…but I'm not _that_ smart!" he groaned. I rolled onto my stomach and raised an eyebrow.

"Ita?"

"Hn?"

"I hate to tell you this, but you are some kind of genius," I explained.

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"What makes you say that?"

"Ita!" I scolded, "you're five years old and you're in class with nine-year-olds! They thought Shisui and Saya and I were some sort of prodigies when they had to place us two years ahead of everyone. And look at you! And you _still_ say your homework is easy!"

"mmmgh," Itachi groaned.

"Humming," I stated.

"But I don't want to be smart," Itachi whispered, "nobody likes me because of it."

"I like you," I said.

Itachi looked back at me, "really?"

I smiled, "you're my first friend, of course I like you!"

At that Itachi laughed, "thanks Ari! Say, I have a question…"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you always call me Ita?"

"Because Itachi is too hard to say," I explained. Ita frowned.

"It's not that hard…"

"Well it's harder than Ita! Like Ariala is harder than Ari!"

"Your real name's Ariala?"

I blushed, "yeah…what, you don't like it?"

"No…I think it's really pretty…" Itachi looked away, his face a light pink.

"Th-thanks," I stammered. We had finished our homework and went outside and sat on the porch. We took turns holding Sasuke on our laps. The night was calm.

A little too calm.

I couldn't help but notice recently a terrifying aura that seemed to seep through Kushina's kind one. It seemed angry, vengeful, and…really familiar…but because it was masked so well behind Kushina (as if it was sealed away) I couldn't figure out who or what it belonged to. The wind blew gently, and I caught the scent of this aura again. A chill ran up my spine.

"You okay?" Ita asked.

"Yeah," I said.

Ita narrowed his eyes at me, "you know how you make fun of me for humming sometimes?"

"I'm not making fun of you, Ita, I'm just pointing it out because I hate it when you keep things from me," I correct.

"Well you know how you say I hum sometimes when I get nervous?" Ita corrected.

"Or when you're lying, but yeah," I said, "why?"

"Well, you get really quiet."

….well, that's karma I guess…

"I'm just thinking is all," I say, crossing my arms and looking away.

"About what?" Ita asked. He leaned forward trying to see my face. When he did Sasuke started to moan, so Itachi returned to his original position, hushing Sasuke before he woke up fully.

I eyed Itachi, concern encased his kind dark eyes. Sighing, I gave up and explained, "I just have…this really weird feeling. Like something bad is about to happen…"

The wind blew again, it whistled through my hair similar to how Auntie Tabi would sneak up on me when she came to visit. But this was a different whistle. It was almost…like a roar. A deep, menacing, yet protective roar…

Itachi noticed this too and looked up, "yeah…I know how you feel…I kind of wish Mom and Dad were home right now…"

In response, Sasuke whimpered and started to cry. Itachi looked down and hushed him, "It's okay Sasuke, as your big brother, I'll protect you no matter what."

I smiled as I watched the two. Ita was so sweet with Sasuke…and he was kind. I lied down on my back and looked up at the stars. Life was so…peaceful here.

Of course as I began to doze off in my thoughts, I was jolted awake as the earth shook violently. "What was that?" I screamed. I was thrown upward a bit and flipped forward onto my stomach. I looked up at Itachi who was curled up in a ball protecting Sasuke. When the tremors subsided, he looked around.

"I don't know!" Itachi said in a panicked voice. But then it quieted down again.

"Earthquake?" I guessed. But then that aura wafted up into my nose again, this time, Kushina's scent couldn't mask it, and suddenly I realized just who's aura that was.

"DAD!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I leapt onto my feet and bolted farther into the village.

"Ari! Wait!" Itachi called back for me, "What's wrong?"

I ignored him and kept running. Panicked, Itachi took off after me with Sasuke in tow. I stopped in my tracks, the scent vanished. Itachi finally caught up to me and grasped hold of my arm, "Ari, we have to go back home! My parents will get really mad at us!"

"Ita…" I began, "would you call me crazy if I told you I thought I sensed my dad?"

Itachi gave me a puzzled look, "well, Minato's at the hospital with Kushina so—"

"Not Minato," I corrected, "my actual dad."

Itachi was silent.

I furrowed my eyebrows. But why was his scent inside Kushina…? "Is it possible for someone to be sealed inside another person?" I asked again.

"Well, the only sealing I know of is Kushina being the Jinchuuriki for the NineTailed Fox…" Itachi mumbled, but he jumped and covered his mouth, "I wasn't supposed to say that!"

My knees suddenly grew weak and began to trembled. I spun around and grasped Itachi's shoulders, shaking him lightly, "What do you mean 'Jinchuuriki'?"

"Well, legend has it that the NineTaile Fox attacked the Leaf when it was first founded…and the First Hokage, Hashirama, sealed the demon inside his wife, Mito, and became what's called a Jinchuuriki. Other countries did it to the other eight Tailed Beasts too…when Mito died, Kushina became the new Jinchuuriki. But that's a secret I wasn't supposed to tell so you can't say anything, okay?"

I was speechless…this whole time…Kushina…I trusted her…! I trusted Aunt Mito! How could they…? Why would they…? Are they the reason Mom was dead too? Did they send Madara after us? Was this the Leaf's doing?

I didn't have time to process my thoughts because just as he said that, there was a loud popping noise—the noise of a huge summoning—and we felt a huge sonic wave nearly blow us off our feet. And then, a loud, rage-filled roar deafened our ears.

I had only heard that roar once before.

We looked up and in the center of the village stood a massive figure that dwarfed the mountain of the four Hokages. My jaw dropped and I took a step back. Itachi let out a scream, "THE NINE TAILS!"

I couldn't move. At first my heart skipped a beat at the sight of my father, but he quickly started destroying the buildings. Shinobi lunged towards him but he easily swiped them away. He let out a loud roar. I covered my ears and screamed.

"ITACHI! ARI! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING OUT HERE?" Fugaku screamed as he ran towards us. Mikoto followed close behind, tears streaming down her face but her focused remained on us kids.

"Get inside, NOW!" she ordered. Itachi nodded and ran towards the house, but I defiantly ran forward, towards my dad. I couldn't get my mind off of anything else.

"ARI, GET BACK HERE!" Fugaku screamed after me. He lunged and grabbed me by the waste, "It's too dangerous!"

I growled and struggled in his grasp. Without thinking, I reached down and bit his hand. He howled and let go. I dropped and dashed away.

"DAMMIT ARI! YOU'LL GET KILLED!" He shouted.

"BUT MY PARENTS!" I screamed back. At that time, I don't know who I was referring to when I said that, whether it was my actual parents or Minato and Kushina.

Mikoto and Fugaku froze in place and as I ran away I heard Mikoto whimper, "Does she know about Kushina…?"

Dad suddenly disappeared, and I recognized Minato's time-space ninjutsu that he was so famous for. I kept running, searching for where Dad would appear again. I felt another tremor, and a loud roar to my right. Fugaku was close behind me, and I took off towards the Kyuubi.

"She's fast…!" I heard Fugaku shout to himself, his voice deadening as I distanced him. I looked back slightly and discovered he was no longer behind me. Huh…how fast was I running…?

I brushed the thought off and pushed my way through barricades of shinobi.

"HEY! Get back here!"

"Isn't that the kid Minato adopted?"

"WAIT! IT'S DANGEROUS!"

They all chased after me, but I didn't care. I approached a barrier, near the clearing where the hideout was in the forest. There I could see Dad…but he…shrunk…and I could hear a baby's cries…

"Naruto!" I shouted out loud and kept running. I could see Minato and Kushina—Kushina was bloody and on her knees—and they held baby Naruto. Dad stood over them, growling and struggling in chains that protruded out of Kushina's back. But suddenly, a pair of hands grasped me by the waste, pulling me back.

"NOO!" I whaled, fighting against the Third Hokage.

"Please, Ari, it's too late!" he pleaded. I struggled out of his arms and ran towards the four, but as I got close, an invisible force electrocuted me and threw me back. I screeched and the Third Hokage caught me. "Ari, don't!" he ordered.

I managed to catch the attention of Kushina and Minato who both looked up. Minato summoned a stone out of the ground and placed Naruto on it, but both of them gazed at me, sorrow encased their eyes. I screamed and struggled in the Third's grasp.

"BUT THAT'S MY DAAAAAD!" I howled. At that the Kyuubi let out a low growl and turned to me, he then turned back at the new family before him. Lifting his paw, he swiped at Naruto, attempting to kill him, I screamed again, "DAD STOP! STOP THIS EVERYONE! PLEASE!"

But Naruto wasn't struck. Instead Kushina and Minato took the blow, Dad's claw piercing through both of them. I froze and melted into the Third Hokage's arms, tears streaming down my face. The Third relaxed his grip on me but held me tightly. "Ariala, I'm so sorry," he wept.

Minato summoned on of his frogs and Kushina weakly turned back to me. "Ari…" she mouthed, "I'm so sorry. I didn't want it to come to this…"

The parents then turned their attention to the newborn child and exchanged words to Naruto. Kushina was crying. Then, Minato began to weave hand signs. I looked up at my Dad and we locked eyes on each other. He was baring his teeth, enraged, but never before had I seen the sorrow in his eyes that I did on that night.

"Ari…" he bellowed, "Forgive me…"

"SEAL!" Minato shouted, and my father's chakra was sucked into Naruto, disappearing forever. Minato and Kushina then dropped to the ground, dead. The chakra chains disappeared along with the barrier. I wriggled my way out of the Third Hokage's arms and sprinted towards the three. Naruto was whaling. I glanced over at him, a black pinwheel-shaped seal was plastered on his stomach as the baby boy cried in pain. I looked over at Minato and Kushina, their bodies lying on top of each other. I didn't know what to do.

"Ari!" I heard Fugaku call out as he ran up to me. Mikoto held Sasuke and Itachi followed close behind. When they realized what was before me, Mikoto stopped and pushed Itachi back.

"Oh my goodness," she wept as she covered her mouth. Fugaku continued forward and looked at the Third Hokage, who stood over me.

"What happened here?" Fugaku asked. The Third sighed and made up the biggest lie he could think of.

"It was a still-birth," he explained, "but the NineTails managed to break through the seal. He captured Kushina and killed her. Minato found this child in his dead mother's arms and had no choice but to seal the fox into him. And it cost the Fourth Hokage his life…"

"Ari…" I heard Itachi call out to me. I couldn't say anything. I just stared down at Kushina and Minato's limp bodies.

"I see…" Fugaku said, "so this child is a monster now…what a cruel fate."

"Fugaku, please do not share the identity of this child to anyone. I will not allow Naruto to be cursed by the people of this village, do you understand?" The Third ordered.

"Naruto?" Mikoto asked, "that was supposed to be the name of their boy…"

"Since their son didn't survive, Minato gave this boy his name, since he is now Minato's legacy. But do you all understand? No one is to utter a word about this boy's identity as a Jincuuriki," The Third repeated.

Everyone who was around nodded in acknowledgement, "yes, sir."

I remained frozen like a statue. Itachi walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and looked at him, his sad eyes watched me carefully. His touch barely grazed my arm, as if I would break if he were any less gentle.

"Ari…?" he asked, "are you okay?"

I stared back down at Minato and Kushina, and then took a glance over at Naruto. He whaled and wriggled as if he were in pain. And that menacing black seal stared up at me, taunting me.

Tears welled in my eyes and fell down my cheeks. I pursed my lips, trying to hold in the pain but I couldn't. It finally occurred to me what happened. And not just on this night, but on the night my mom cast me away to this time in order to keep me safe. I was cursed and hated by the village as much as this boy was, and we wouldn't ever be given a chance.

I fell to my knees and screamed out my sobs.


	4. Chapter 3: Family Dinner

Kind of a short chapter so...yeah...well, I wouldn't really call it a chapter, more like a blerb. But anyway,

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

Five years later, on my tenth birthday, I graduated the Academy with Saya. It was a relief to be out of that school. Itachi and Shisui both graduated two years before we did and were on their way to becoming fine genin.

Because they were so young when they graduated, instead of being placed in the usual three-man squads, Itachi and Shisui were placed on a team together under the instruction of Fugaku. When Saya and I graduated, and in the same situation, we were placed with those two with the intention that we could train with the boys' help and work as two adjoined squads. Because we had always trained together and all got along so well, it didn't take long for Saya and I to catch up, and we all worked together in one functioning unit.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, thanks to the gifted quartet as we were called, the Third Hokage decided to push the entrance age into the Ninja Academy back to seven-years-old, in hopes of keeping students from graduating at too young of an age.

"Alright, alright, everyone gather round!" Mikoto called out cheerfully as she pulled a large cake out of the refrigerator, "Today's is a very special day for two very special reasons!"

We were all smiles that evening. I sat at the dinner table between Itachi and Saya. On the other side of Itachi sat Sasuke, followed by Fugaku, then Mikoto, then Saya's parents, and then Shisui sat on the other side of Saya.

"Alright, birthday girl, make a wish and blow out the candles!" Mikoto cheered. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment. I couldn't think of a good wish right off the bat, so I decided I would put my wish off for later and blew out the candles.

"Congratulations, Ari, you earned it," Ita said, patting my shoulder.

"Hey! Don't forget about me, you turd!" Saya barked from the other side of me.

"Don't sweat it, Saya, Itachi's a gentleman and needed to congratulate his girlfriend first!" Shisui joked back. At that we both turned red and Itachi slammed his hands on the table.

"Shisui!" his voice cracked, "She's sitting closest to me, you idiot!"

At that, Shisui let out a laugh, "That's fine, I get it. Besides, I don't think Ari wants to date a prepubescent teenager whose voice shoots up three octaves when he gets nervous!"

"Hmmmmmgh," Itachi crossed his arms and looked away angrily.

"Shisui, be nice to him!" I scolded, "Your voice cracks too!"

"It does not!" Shisui protested, ironically, his voice cracking even worse than Itachi's. At that everyone laughed.

So then I added, "and besides, Itachi's voice doesn't crack when he's nervous, he just grunts like he's constipated or something!"

"Ugh, Ariiii," Itachi groaned.

"See!" I chimed. Joyous laughs were exchanged at Itachi's and Shisui's expense, but I glanced over at Ita and gave him a big smile. He glared back at me, his face red. I frowned and patted his shoulder, "Oh, come on, I was just poking some fun is all," I whispered.

"Am I really that obnoxious with my grunts?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No," I said, "If you were, I wouldn't be making fun of you for it." I winked and Ita let out a light chuckle. He had such a bright smile...

Behind me, Saya started making kissing noises.

I turned and glared at her and groaned, "Whaaaat?"

"So Itachi, when are you going to ask Ari out on a date?" Saya asked ignoring me.

Itachi jumped, his face turning a deep red, "Hn? Uh, but we're just friends!"

"Uh-huh, suuuure you are," Saya smiled devilishly and winked at me. I glared back at her. I couldn't see what her problem was. She and Shisui had been acting like this for the past week, and I couldn't figure out why.

I guess they just knew what was coming even before Ita and I did.

As the night ended, I bid my goodbyes. Itachi asked me yet again if he could walk me home, but as with every time I left their house I declined his offer. I didn't need an escort. Ever since the night Minato and Kushina died, I had been a frequent guest at the Uchihas (either Itachi's place or Saya and Shisui's. But usually the four of us ended up in the same place anyway) but I still kept a two-room apartment to myself that the village paid for. I didn't want to be a burden, another mouth to feed. I was a fish out of water around the Uchiha family. They came from a relatively wealthy background, a powerful and well-loved clan of the leaf. I came from a family of nomads with no place to call home. And really no particularly close ties with anyone. I didn't want to spoil their family dinner with my presence every night.

Because to my mom, family dinner was the most important part of the day.

"_Momma_, _I'm hungry," I whined. Mother sighed._

"_I know sweetheart, but Daddy will be home soon," she said, brushing through my thick hair with her fingers. She grimaced, "Tsk, your hair gets so tangled so easily…"_

"_But why do we have to wait? He always stays out late," I whined._

"_He doesn't stay out that late, honey," Mom cooed, "he does it to protect us. And we wait because dinner is a special time of day where the whole family can sit down together. A time where we can forget our qualms with the world or each other and share about our day and what we learned from our experiences. It's a time where we can truly be ourselves around one another and share our unconditional love for each other."_

_I peered up at her, confused, "Really?"_

_She nodded, "Yes, the whole family."_

"_Even my aunts and uncles?"_

"_Even them," she said._

_My lips quivered slightly. I bet all my cousins had bigger and better family dinners than we had. Because they could actually all sit down together, "then why don't they all have dinner with us, Mommy?"_

"_Well, sweetie," my mom said, "it's hard to explain. There's a lot of things that go on between families. Disagreements and feuds, and right now we're in one of those with our family, but someday, we'll all be able to sit down at a table together, every single Bijuu, Senju, and Uzumaki, and we'll be able to enjoy one another's company."_

_I smiled, "that sounds really nice. When will that happen, Mommy?"_

_Mother shrugged, "I don't know, Ari. But that's my dream. A dream of the perfect family dinner."_

I sighed, pulling myself out of old childhood memories. Yeah, the perfect family dinner…I had no place in one of those. Sighing, I placed my hands behind my head and kept walking. I walked past the playground on my way home, and a lone figure caught my eye.

Naruto…that brat teepeed my house yesterday, and then kicked me in the face when I chased after him. I still had a bump on my forehead too!

They say that after the still birth of her son, Kushina was killed along with hundreds of other people when the NineTails, my father, broke through her seal. Among those killed were Naruto's parents, and in pursuit of the Kyuubi Minato came across Naruto in his dead mother's arms and with few options, chose to seal the NineTailed Fox inside the boy with the cost of his life. Well, that's what they say at least.

I, however, know what really happened. Naruto was Kushina and Minato's son, born happy and healthy, but someone broke Kushina's seal and took control of my dad. In their last moments, Kushina and Minato decided to make their son the new Jinchuuriki, entrusting the Kyuubi's powers to that infant boy. Being the only family of the couple, Naruto and I each received half of Kushina and Minato's life savings (though Naruto wasn't told where the money to pay his rent came from) and I got the few belongings from the two that had been salvaged from the disaster. Those belongings were given to me in a large box, a box that sat in the back of my closet for years, forgotten. I couldn't bear to look in that box. I couldn't bear to look at Naruto. As far as I could understand, Kushina and Minato had betrayed me. Aunt Mito and Uncle Hashirama had betrayed me. The world had betrayed me. They sealed my dad and my aunts and uncles away inside people for the sake of exploiting their power.

I stared at Naruto, sitting alone on a swing, staring out at the lake. He was a devilish kid, causing trouble whenever he had the chance. The orphanage only took him in until the day he decided to run away and wreak havoc on innocent villagers, at that time the orphanage decided he could fend for himself. He wasn't worth their time. The Third Hokage used his parents' savings and a little funding from the village to help pay for an apartment where Naruto could stay, just like he did with me.

That kid was such a brat…he caused nothing but trouble. And he was weak. It wouldn't take much for someone to come up behind, slit his throat, and unleash my father.

….

Well, he was alone in this world…no one really liked him…and it would free Daddy…

Silently, I swallowed a lump in my throat and treaded toward the playground. I pulled a kunai out of my weapons pouch and held it behind my back. I walked over to the swing set and stood next to him. As I got a closer look of his profile, I noticed tears and snot running down his face.

"Why are you crying?" I asked. Naruto jumped and looked back at me. He wiped his nose and glared at me.

"Your that lady I kicked yesterday…what do you want?" he asked, his voice bitter and defeated, "if you want to beat me up, go ahead. Actually, just go ahead and kill me! That's what the rest of the village wants anyway!"

My chest felt hollow. This was my chance. I gripped the kunai tightly, ready to pounce. But for whatever reason I opened my mouth instead, "I just wanted to know why you're crying."

At that Naruto froze and glanced up at me, his big blue eyes were filled with fear and sorrow, "You mean…you don't hate me?"

"Now how could I hate you? I haven't even met you yet," I answered. How hypocritical of me. And here I was with a knife behind my back.

"But everyone else does. They say I'm a monster," Naruto spat, turning his gaze towards the lake and glaring at nothing in particular, "but they never give me a chance! They don't even know me. I just feel so alone!"

At that I bit my lip. My shoulders sagged. Slowly, without Naruto noticing, I put my kunai back into my weapons pouch. I walked over and took a seat on the swing next to the boy.

"Trust me, I know exactly how you feel," I sighed. Very few people knew about my dad, and those who did in the higher ups never even made eye contact with me. Even the Third Hokage appeared uneasy around me. And those who didn't know what I was could take one look at me, my thick and tangled auburn hair, my wild icy eyes, my abnormal speed, and my devilish temper, and they knew I was different. The girls at the academy all scorned and wrote me off as a freak. I had no chance of ever truly becoming a part of something. A part of a family. I lost that chance when my mom died.

But Naruto was still human. He may have had a demon sealed inside him, but he was still human, unlike me. He still had a chance. And he deserved it.

A lump formed in the back of my throat and I clutched the chains of the swing. Naruto looked back up at me with hopeful eyes.

"R-really?" Naruto asked, wiping the snot from his nose. Gulping away the tears and any hopes of bringing my dad back I stood up and knelt down in front of Naruto.

I held out my hand, "Hi, I'm Ari," I said, "would you be my friend?"

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief. He then placed his tiny little hand in mine and said, "I've never had a friend before…"

And in that moment, I swore to myself that I would protect this little boy with my life. I don't know why, but I suddenly felt a deep love that I had never known before. And I also felt deep regret. If Kushina and Minato had lived, I would have called him my little brother, but until that night I only considered him a nuisance. But at the same time, part of me felt guilty for not choosing to free Dad…was this how Kushina felt when she met me?

Naruto hopped off the swing and his stomach growled, pulling me away from my thoughts. We both looked down and he rubbed his head, "Oh, man, I haven't eaten since breakfast!"

"You what?" I asked, scolding him lightly, "Naruto that's not good for you!"

"Well, I don't exactly have parents to make me food or anything!" Naruto complained.

At that I sighed and took his hand again, "then how about you come home with me and I'll make you something."

Naruto looked up at me with the biggest smile, tears bubbled back up in the corners of his eyes, "Really?"

I nodded, "of course!"

Naruto let out a giggle and threw his arms around me, "Thank you! Thank you!"

I sighed and smiled to myself. I finally knew what my birthday wish was:

To have the perfect family dinner.


	5. Chapter 4: The Ultimate Tag Team

**Itachi**

Behind him, Sasuke let out a faint giggle.

Itachi chuckled, "how is it that the one who sprained his ankle is laughing? Could it be that he was just trying to get out of walking home?"

"No! It's not that, it's just I had a lot of fun today. And I'm excited because tomorrow I start the academy, I get to finally catch up to you, big brother!" Sasuke stated enthusiastically.

At that, Itachi frowned slightly. As much as it warmed his heart to know how much his little brother looked up to him, Itachi just wished he could get Sasuke to see that being the best really wasn't that great…

As they walked home, the duo noticed a crowd of people gathered outside the academy—the day before the entrance ceremony was always graduation from the academy. Several brand new genin stood by their parents, showing off their new headbands engraved with the symbol of Leaf Shinobi. Itachi smiled, this batch of kids were supposed to be his graduating class…finally he would be able to fight alongside his peers.

Just as they passed, Itachi caught sight of three girls sprinting towards him, squeeling.

"Look, it's Itachi!" a burnet, curly-haired girl named Izayoi called out. She was a green-eyed girl of the Haruno clan with long eyelashes and porcelain skin, which made her look like a doll. Based on the complaining Itachi heard from Ari and Saya, Izayoi was considered the prettiest girl in the class, and the leader of her friend trio, which included the dark-skinned, almond-eyed Sari whose parents moved to Konoha from the Cloud Village before she was born, and Amaya Hyuuga from one of the clan's branch families who covered her face in makeup to supposedly extenuate the seal on her forehead. Saya occasionally spoke with the three, but Ari could not stand them and refused to go anywhere near those girls.

"Hi, ladies," Itachi greeted politely. Amaya circled around him, bouncing happily as she held out her hand to show him her new headband.

"Look, Itachi! I'm a genin now, isn't that cool?" she asked, "Between my byakugan and your sharingan, we'll be unstoppable on the battlefield, just you and me!"

Itachi laughed politely, "yeah, that is pretty cool. Though I'm a Chunin so I don't know how much of each other we'll get to see on missions, but you're eyes are quite strong and a great asset to the village."

Amaya beamed, "Really? Did you hear that girls? Eeeeeh!"

Izayoi rolled her eyes and pushed the Hyuuga out of the way. She walked up close to Itachi, causing the young Uchiha to back away slightly, "yes, but you don't want to see us only on the battlefield, now do you, Itachi? I mean, it would be so much more fun if we could get together and, you know, hang out?"

By this point, Izayoi's hand was on Itachi's chest and her face drew really close to his. Itachi leaned away slightly. Sasuke rested his chin on Itachi's shoulder and sighed heavily.

"Sorry, but I don't think my big brother is that in to you guys," he announced. Itachi's face flushed red and he turned back at his brother, in shock of the boy's rudeness.

"Sasuke! Be nice," Itachi scolded.

Izayoi laughed, "Aw, your little brother is so cute and naïve, Itachi! You are such a good brother, carrying him home."

"I'm not naïve," Sasuke retorted, "and besides, I've never seen you around here, so I don't think Big brother would want to hang out with you. He likes Ari better."

Izayoi's face flushed red and her smile fell, she gave Sasuke a mean glare, "_Ari_? That little rat? Ha! Don't make me laugh kid! If you ask me, Ari is just some piece of trash lying around in the dump!"

"She doesn't even brush her hair," Sari commented.

"I bet she doesn't even bathe," Amaya laughed.

"She does too!" Sasuke fought back, "and she's ten times prettier than all three of you put together!"

"Okaaay, that's enough guys!" Itachi interjected suddenly. As much as he hated people badmouthing one of his closest friends, this wasn't a place to start an argument. "What's with all this hostility? Today's a day for celebrating; you all are genin aren't you?"

At that, the three girls exchanged glances, their smiles returning. Izayoi stepped forward and began to restart her round of flirting when an all-to familiar voice cut her off and sent Itachi's heart up into the clouds.

"Itachi!" Ari shouted, sauntering up to the group. Her eyes were ice-cold, her eyebrows furrowed as she glared at all of them. Her lips were pursed together tightly, trying to hold back her rage. Itachi grimaced. Ari had used his full name, which could only mean one thing: in simple terms, if Itachi was lucky we would either be ignored the rest of the day or come home with only minor scrapes and bruises.

"H-hey, Ari!" Itachi stammered. Ariala Drake was the only person in the entire world that could intimidate Itachi Uchiha. Part of it was her hot temper, after spending several years on a squad with her, Itachi was sure that he still hadn't seen all the frightening things she could do to her enemies. But the other part…well…as angry as the girl appeared, Itachi couldn't help but admire her lithe figure, her messy light-brown hair, and her terrifying, yet captivating blue eyes. He couldn't figure out what these feelings were for Ari, Shisui called it love but Itachi's known Ari since before they were in the Academy, there was no way he could have feelings for such a close friend.

"You're late, Ponytail!" Ari barked, "we were supposed to report for a mission twenty minutes ago!"

Itachi sighed in relief as Ari walked passed him, grabbing hold of his hair and giving it a sharp yank as she motioned for him to go. She was still spitting out nicknames, which means she wasn't angry at _him_.

The three girls whined, "Itachi, where are you going?"

"Sorry, ladies, but this filthy rat that Itachi found in a dumpster needs him to get ready for a mission tomorrow. Bye!" Ari snapped back at the girls as she stomped off. Itachi followed close behind her, he and Sasuke were both silent most of the way home.

Finally Sasuke leaned over and whispered in Itachi's ear, "I think she's mad…"

"I'm not mad!" Ari growled back, causing the two boys to jump. Geez, Ari's hearing was good…and man, could she be scary…

The three did not say a word after that until they reached home, where Itachi and Sasuke's father awaited the trio, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"You're late," was all Father said. The three stepped inside, took off their shoes, and made their way to the living space. They knelt down on the floor before Fugaku, but, after noticing Sasuke's limping, Ari instinctively inspected the boy's ankle and began applying some light medical ninjutsu on it.

Fugaku began, "Itachi, I am very proud of you. Six months after becoming a chunin and you've excelled greatly. This mission tomorrow will all but ensure your entrance into the ANBU blac ops. And Ari, you too have come far and could entire the ANBU if you two succeed tomorrow."

The three didn't say anything. As Fugaku spoke, Itachi began to have a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. What was his father planning? And why was he bringing this up in front of Sasuke? Wasn't he going to mention Sasuke's entrance ceremony?

Fugaku continued, "That's why…I will be accompanying you on the mission tomorrow."

Itachi and Ari both jumped and exchanged nervous glances. Ari didn't want to tell Fugaku, but she had been planning on leaving for the mission late and meeting up with Itachi so she could be there for Naruto at the entrance ceremony. And Sasuke…who would be there to cheer him on?

"Well, that's great father," Itachi began, "but I don't think that's necessary because you see…" he trailed off and elbowed Sasuke, encouraging his brother to continue on and vouch for himself.

Sasuke caught the hint and shyly continued, "You see, Father, tomorrow is my—"

"Tomorrow's mission is extremely important, you realize that, don't you? I'm going on this mission with you two," Fugaku didn't even give Sasuke the chance to finish.

Itachi suppressed his anger as best he could. He _hated_ when his father did this to Sasuke.

"Well, Fugaku, sir," Ari spoke up suddenly, "I was actually wondering if we could leave the village late tomorrow. I promised Naruto that I would be there for him at the entrance—"

"Absolutely not," Fugaku barked, "it is vital that you show promptness and leave the village on time and arrive at your destination when you were instructed to, I don't care how fast you are! And making promises to that rat?"

"_He's not a rat!" _Ari growled back, bearing sharp, cat-like teeth. Itachi jumped and eyed the girl next to him. There were times when Ari appeared a little off from the rest of the world…inhuman persay…and today was turning into one of those times.

"Well, father," Itachi interjected, attempting to ease the tension between Fugaku and Ari (as much as Itacih's mother adored her, Itachi's father did not like Ari in the slightest, and Itachi suspected that the feeling was mutual), but then, in the most polite way possible, Itachi said, "I'm not going on the mission tomorrow."

"You _what?_" Fugaku shouted, enraged.

"You see, tomorrow is Sasuke's entrance ceremony. It is required of the whole family to attend. You saw the invitation, didn't you?" Itachi asked, adding a hint of sarcasm in his tone. Of course Fugaku did, but what Sasuke would never find out was that their father opened the letter and proceeded to throw it in the trash. Typical Fugaku, he was so short-sighted he couldn't see past the elder son.

He glanced down at Sasuke who stared up at him with big eyes, he then glanced over at his father, and the two exchanged a brief staring contest before Fugaku finally groaned and stood up, "Alright, I get it!" he pouted, "I'll be at the entrance ceremony tomorrow!" Fugaku stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut.

The three were silent for a long time.

"I think I'm going to take my leave now," Ari blurted out suddenly, stretching as she stood, "your dad hates me so I might as well not overstay my welcome."

"Mmkay," Sasuke said politely, he then turned and waved, "bye Ari! Will you and Big Brother be at the ceremony tomorrow?"

Ari smiled and gave him a thumbs-up, "Sasuke, we wouldn't miss it for the world!"

As Ari left, Itachi couldn't help but noticed that smile fall just as she turned away from Sasuke's sight.

Without thinking, Itachi stood quickly, "Here I'll walk you out."

"Don't need to," Ari stated quickly. Yep, she was still mad…

Itachi paused, not sure what to do. Ari stepped out of the room and quickly made her way to the door. He looked back at Sasuke who glared at him with crossed arms. Itachi then turned back and knelt down, smiling kindly to Sasuke, "why don't you go find Mom and get ice on that ankle, okay?"

"Okay," Sasuke pouted, "you're actually going to tell her this time, right?"

"Tell her what?" Itachi asked, confused.

"Itachi!" Sasuke scolded, "those girls were mean to her! Tell her she's pretty!"

Itachi threw his hands up, "okay! Okay! I'm going! But ice that leg of yours!"

With that, Itachi stepped out of the living room and looked around, but Ari was already gone.

* * *

**Ari**

"Argh!" I grunted as I punched the punching bag as hard as I could, sending it and Shisui back five feet. Shisui's family had a home gym in their basement, which I often used to train when I wasn't in a bad mood and could control my strength better. But today I was really really pissed off and Saya was too damn lazy to meet me out in the forest.

"Dammit Ari!" Shisui gasped, "are you trying to kill me?"

"Yeah, Arz-Barz, go easy on my brother. And don't you have a mission to get ready for tomorrow?" Saya added in as she watched me beat the stuffing out of their punching bag and the bodily fluids out of her brother.

"Why should I bother?" I snapped back, "that would require showering, which I obviously don't do because I'm a dumpster rat!"

Saya rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on, Ari, that's just those three being jealous of you."

"_Jealous_? HA!" I swung my leg and kicked the punching bag again, only this time I missed and accidentally struck Shisui upside the head, sending him down to the ground with a hard face-plant.

"OWW!" Shisui cried out, "Can we take a break?"

"NO!" I screamed and went over to a dummy used for target practice and blew a hole through it before sending a chakra blade from my hand and lopping its head off. Shisui and Saya were silent and stared at me.

"I wouldn't let her get too close to your head again, Bro," Saya whispered. I panted, my body shook in anger and finally I fell on my butt and let out a frustrated groan and allowed a few angry tears to seep through my eyes. I don't know why I was so angry, but I was so freaking tired of Izayoi and her lackeys treating me like crap and hanging all over Ita. It was repulsive. And he deserved so much better than those three. He deserved someone what wasn't into him for his strong, attractive, quiet guy demeanor and use him as arm-candy. It was just so…argh! They pissed me off when they did that! And don't even get me started on Fugaku…that bastard calling Naruto a rat! Who does he think he is, anyway?

"Ari, you know Itachi would never date any of those three, right?" Shisui pointed out.

I turned back and barked, "I could care less who he dates! But those suck-ups are absolutely disgusting with how desperate they are!"

Saya rolled her eyes, "Come on, Ari, we both know how you feel, so why don't you just admit it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I snapped back, "But besides, it doesn't matter how much you guys try to hook us up, it isn't going to happen. I'm a _demon_. A freak. I'm a haphazard mess. I don't care what I look like and I never will, but Itachi's a well-groomed pure bread who is going to stick to well-groomed pure breads like Izayoi. I'll kill him if he stoops low enough to date her, but she's the type he should be with."

"I thought you said you don't care who he dates?" Saya noted skeptically.

I glared back at her, "You know what I mean, Saya."

Shisui knelt down next to me, "Look, Ari, the only person in our family who would even give a crap about what background Itacih's girlfriend would come from is Uncle Fugaku, and really, Itachi's not going to let that get in the way."

"You're point?" I asked. I was tired of those two hammering me like anything would happen between Itachi and I. As much as it pissed me off to see him with Izayoi, Amaya, and Sari, there was no attraction between him and me. Zilch. We were close friends since we were just out of diapers and that was that. We made a great tag-team on missions, but nowhere else.

"What I'm saying, Ari, is that the well-groomed pretty girl that you're thinking of is not Itachi's type in the slightest," Shisui explained.

"Then what is his type?" I snapped back.

"You," Shisui answered. He then stammered and corrected, "well, someone like you, I mean. A down-to-earth, kind, confident, and strong girl. Someone who doesn't care what she looks like and someone who can be his best friend. That's all he's looking for!"

I sighed and pursed my lips together, fighting back a bizarre plethora of emotions. I rolled my eyes and stood, walking upstairs.

"Ari!" Saya scolded as she and Shisui followed me. In the kitchen, their mom had prepared some lunch for us.

"Hey kids!" she greeted, "I made you guys something to eat. Take your pick."

Shisui and Saya's mom was a fantastic cook. Between her and Mikoto, I would never ever go hungry. My cooking was…alright. I mean, Naruto ate it when he came over for dinner (if he remembered to come over for dinner) and I was taking lessons from both of them, but I doubted my cooking would never be up to par with the Uchiha women.

The three of us sat down at the table and as I ate and mulled over my food, I started to feel a bit better. As my anger melted away, I began to talk more and the three of us were joking and having a good time, forgetting all about the conversation in the basement. That is, until their mom came back into the kitchen and hung up the phone.

"Hey, Shisui? Itachi's on his way. Did you save him some food?" she said.

Shisui turned to his mother, his face stuffed with sandwiches. He spit one back out and got up to make Ita a plate. I sunk in my chair. Great…here we go again…

"Hey, Ari, you want to go on the trampoline?" Saya asked quickly. I perked back up and smiled in relief.

"Do I ever!" I replied and quickly finished lunch.

"Mom, we'll be outside," Saya said as we walked out the back door.

"Okay, have fun!" her mom responded.

Saya and I were both took gymnastics class together and had become very competitive gymnasts, even traveling to the Land of Wind for a regional tournament the year prior. Since we had both been promoted to Chunin, we hadn't been training as much, and I had a feeling I would have to all but give up my gymnastics career when Itachi and I were accepted into the ANBU. Saya's trampoline was huge; large enough for both of us to practice our flips and other tricks on at the same time, and it was always where we could go to have our girl talks. Everyone knew that when Saya and I were on the trampoline, unless we invited you to join us, we were not to be disturbed.

"So spill it, Ari," was the first thing Saya said to me after we spent a few minutes taking turns doing hand-springs and back flips on the trampoline. I got some air and did a toe-touch, then crossed my legs in and landed on my butt, bouncing a little.

"Spill what? I already told you, Ita is attractive. Really really attractive…and nice…and gentle…and he has nice eyes. But really, Saya, we aren't going to go out. I find him attractive, but I'm not attracted to him. That's that," I answered curtly.

"Okay, but let's say you do like him," Saya offered, sitting down, "hypothetically of course. Would you two work out then?"

"No," I said quickly. I hugged my legs to my chest and sighed.

"Why not?" Saya asked, leaning close to me.

"Because he deserves better," I said quietly, "I know I'm different from everyone else. That's no secret. I'm a freak. But it's not just that, everyone is prettier than me, and they can see Ita outside of missions, and they dress better, and they give him the attention he deserves. I mean, you can tell Ita loves it when the girls flirt with him. He got enough crap from his classmates in the academy because he was so young, and you can tell he loves that attention Izayoi and the others give him. And he deserves that attention."

"So you're saying that you aren't good enough because you aren't infatuated with him or your appearance and you get to see all sides of him," Saya stated.

"That's not what I said!" I barked.

"But it's what you meant," Saya replied, "at least, that's what I took from it. And trust me, Ari, you and I both know that Itachi doesn't really need that attention. He needs recognition, yes, but he pulls away whenever people try to worship him. Look at how well he gets along with Uncle Fugaku. And he hardly talks to Izayoi, whenever she corners him, he lets her talk. But he talks to _you_. You know things about him that probably even Shisui doesn't!"

I rolled my eyes, "what makes me so special, Saya? And how can you and Shisui be so sure that I'm the kind of person Itachi would date?"

"Well, no one can say what Itachi sees in you," Saya started, "that sounded bad but I mean that I don't know why one girl stands out over another. But I can say that you are very special to Itachi. I don't know what he'd do without you."

"Oh yeah? And what proof do you have?" I asked.

Saya stood up and began to walk off the trampoline, "Well, as far as I know you're the only person who is even allowed to call him 'Ita'."

* * *

**Itachi**

"Oh, they're sitting now, things must've just gotten serious," Shisui noted. Itachi and Shisui had been ducked down in front of the kitchen window, watching outside as the girls danced and flipped around on the trampoline. Saya was certainly the more graceful of the two, as she typically favored running through her floor routines, hypnotizing the audience with her elegance. Ari, on the contrary, was a little firecracker (and Itachi wasn't kidding when he said 'little'. She was pretty tall for a gymnast, but her muscular figure was incredibly petite). She could pop out cork-screw turns and hand-springs out of nowhere like it was nothing. When they were on the local gym team, Ari was one of the best at the vault because of the height she could obtain, but Saya had Ari beat out on pretty much everything else. In fact, Ari struggled on most everything else. She was very graceful, but not as graceful as she probably needed to be to be a high-level gymnast. She was great at all the tricks but was, and still is, incredibly impatient and grew beside herself when she wasn't catching on as fast as her teammates.

Well, that's what Saya and Ari said at least. Itachi commended Saya's ability as an athlete, but it didn't really matter how good his cousin was because for some reason, when those girls messed around on the trampoline, Itachi could only keep his eyes on Ari. Her quick turns, her high, powerful leaps, her impressive flexibility as she would jump into the splits, the way her muscles tightened as she spun in the air, and the way her messy, tangled hair would fly around like a ball of fire around her head…

"Earth to Itachi?" Shisui asked, snapping Itachi out of is trance.

"Hm?" Itachi responded.

"Does that count as humming?" Shisui teased.

At that, Itachi's temper flared, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Uh-huh," Shisui eyed his cousin playfully. The two observed Ari and Saya on the trampoline. Saya appeared as if she were either pleading or consoling with Ari, while Ari hugged her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. The poor girl looked dejected. Itachi sighed, he should have chased after her right as she walked out the door. When he exited his house, he thought Ari had gone home, but when she wasn't there, Itachi sighed and gave up, and decided to go over to his best friend's house in an attempt to loosen up right before his big mission. When he arrived however, and his aunt informed he and Shisui that Ari and Saya were out on the trampoline and needed girl time, the boys caught the hint to leave the girls alone, but Itachi's heart wouldn't stop pounding in his chest. So much for loosening up…

"Looks like they're coming in, we better sit down," Shisui noted, tugging Itachi by the shirt and pulling him into the living room.

"…my nicknames aren't that ridiculous!" Ari protested as she walked in the door.

"Curly-Q?" Saya asked.

"Shisui has curly hair!"

"Ponytail and Ita?"

"Ita's hair is longer and more luscious than mine is and he's a guy! And Ita's easier to say than Itachi!"

…his hair was luscious?

Saya continued, "Duckbutt and Sacks?"

"Sacks is for the same reason I use Ita. And have you seen the back of Sasuke's hair? It looks like a duck's ass."

"Foxy-boxes, blondie, loudmouth, and Narutard."

"Okay, those are bad, but he's practically my little brother. It's my job to drive him insane and embarrass him. Though you have to admit Foxy-boxes is pretty funny and at least it has a little truth to it!"

"Ari!"

"Hey! If I can joke about it, it's obviously not that big of a deal!"

"Ugh…I'm still amazed that you _can_ joke about it…oh, hey, Itachi!" Saya finished as she walked into the living room. She then nudged Ari with her elbow and Ari looked up, jumping at the sight of Itachi.

"Woaah! Hey I-I-Ita!" Ari stammered. Itachi smiled back.

"I didn't realize that my hair was that silky smooth," Itachi joked. Ari's face turned bright red and she looked away.

"I said it was more luscious than mine…which really isn't that hard to beat," Ari noted, picking at her fluffy hair. It was blown about by the wind and her tumbling, strewn about in all directions. Ari's hair was so thick and coarse; it was more like a fur coat. It was understandable why Ari didn't really bother to tame her mane…really she was kind of cute like that…

"But you used the word luscious," Itachi teased. Ari let out a growl.

"Oh come on, not you too!" she groaned and walked out of the room. At that, Itachi frowned and raised an eyebrow.

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Saya sighed and rubbed her temples, "No, Itachi, Ari's just throwing a fit is all…"

"You got her to talk finally didn't you," Shisui guessed, a big smile forming on his face. Saya grinned mischievously and glanced at Itachi, her eyes glistening.

"Yep!" she said, but then her smile fell, "but she's mad at me now. The turd can't admit to anything. She's such a stubborn tomboy."

"I heard that!" Ari shouted from the bathroom.

"Good! You stubborn oaf!" Saya called back.

"You girly housewife!" Ari insulted in response.

"Man hands!"

"Barbie doll!"

At that Saya spat out a laugh, and Itachi could hear suppressed giggles coming from the bathroom. Shisui and Itachi also let out a few chuckles of their own. The two girls had such a twisted sense of humor, someone who didn't know them might think they would need a restraining order for each other.

"So…what did Ari tell you?" Itachi asked, curiously.

"Ah! What happens on the trampoline stays on the trampoline," Saya scolded, "come on, Itachi, it's the sacred girl code, you should know better than to try and pry the ultimate truth out of our beautiful manicured hands!"

At that point Ari walked back into the room, her mood having calmed down, but still she glared at Saya. She joked, "you mean _your_ beautiful and manicured hands, Izayoi. And my cold, dead, and lifeless body."

Saya rolled her eyes, "Izayoi?"

"Okay, but then why does Shisui know about this?" Itachi whined, trying to figure out what the hell this big secret was, "he wasn't on the trampoline!"

"It's called tactical espionage, my cousin," Shisui explained, puffing out his chest.

"No, it's called you're an obnoxious big brother and spied on our conversation before we went out on the trampoline," Saya corrected. Shisui glared and stuck his tongue out at his sister.

At that, Ari broke out into a fit of laughter. The other three jumped and stared at her like she had three heads, but it didn't take long for all four of them to be rolling on the ground in hysterical fits of laughter. By the time they had calmed down enough to breath, Itachi's sides and cheeks hurt and he was lying on his back. He glanced over at Ari who gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen. She was usually a happy, smiling girl (when she wasn't cranky) and had a beautiful smile as it was, but a smile like the one she gave Itachi in that moment was the kind that could make your entire week it was so big and bright and full of pure joy. Ari was rarely one to showcase her special smile to Itachi.

What he didn't realize though, that he was the only one who ever got to see that smile.

* * *

**Ari**

Our mission was fairly simple: deliver a message from our feudal lord and the Hokage to the Village Hidden in the Sand to give to the Kazekage. The message was contained in an encrypted scroll that I carried in my backpack and was in regards to a peace treaty. Theoretically, the mission was probably one of the easier missions we'd gone on. The trip to the Sand Village was only about three days on foot, not counting my abnormal speed, and the Kazekage and shinobi of the sand were expecting us, excited to welcome us with open arms even. What made this mission such a huge deal, however, was the fact that a lot of our villages' current allies were against this impending treaty and the fact that because the Sand and the Leaf have had such a hostile history, the Third Hokage only considered his best diplomats that he knew would protect the scroll with their lives but could also defend themselves and abandon the mission safely should troubles arise with the Sand village.

So, with his infinite wisdom, and his best decision making, the Third Hokage gave the job to the trigger happy half-breed daughter of the NineTails and the shyest and most timid Uchiha you will ever meet. And he bribed us with a couple openings in ANBU (well, really he bribed Fugaku, who would force Itachi to go and then Itachi would force me to go). Way to go Lord Hokage, you're a genius!

"According to our briefing, the village Hidden in the Stones is allied with the Sand Village, but still bears a heavy grudge against the Leaf after the Third Great Ninja War," Itachi recited, attempting to break the silence on our track. I nodded in acknowledgement and he continued: "there have also been reports of movement from the Stone Village, so I'd imagine they are planning to stop any movement towards an alliance between our two villages. We'll have to keep our guards up the entire time."

"And shinobi from the Stone Village specialize mainly in earth-style ninjutsu," I added, "how good is your lightning style?"

"Not the best," Itachi grimaced. I rolled my eyes, for him "not the best" meant more like "second place", and in this case, first place would go to Kakashi Hatake and his signature Lightning Blade technique.

"So if we get ambushed by earth-style ninja, you can take them on. Great!" I teased.

"Hey, don't leave me if that happens!" Itachi groaned and shoved me lightly. I giggled and my heart skipped a beat at his touch.

Okay, okay, Shisui and Saya were right…maybe I did have some feelings for Ita. But he didn't need to know that.

We set up camp that night and set up a system for keeping watch. We leaned against each other back-to-back and operated on two-hour shifts, waking the other up when it was time for us to go to sleep. Midway through the second day, we had crossed the Land of Fire and cut through a bordering nation. We were almost to the Land of Wind where escorts would meet us and guide us to the village. I thought we were in the clear when we passed the last town before the land of wind and crossed into the forest border.

All I heard was the snapping of a twig.

Being half-demon, I was born with exceptional hearing and eyesight, even among the Uchiha, and I had noticed it before Itachi. I stopped and looked around, but there was no movement.

"Something wrong?" Itachi asked nonchalantly, but the way his body stiffened I knew he had caught on and was just toying with our spy.

"Nah, I was just thinking is all," I sighed, but Itachi nodded and knew that what I really meant was, "Sharingan. Now."

Itachi looked around, careful to conceal his activated sharingan. His hand then brushed up against mine. I swallowed my thumping heart and paid close attention as his finger tapped the bottom of my wrist twice: they were coming at us from above.

"Say when," I whispered, readying myself. Itachi crossed his arms and quietly weaved handsigns.

"_Now_!" He ordered and we both spun around so our backs touched as I deflected a shower of senbon needles and Itachi blocked the attack of a giant man who was about twice our size.

"Oh shit!" I heard Itachi shout behind me. That was the first time I had heard him cuss. That couldn't be good. Another series of senbon needles came at me, this time to my right. I pushed against Itachi, urging him to spin around and deflected most of the needles, but one managed to strike me in the arm, sending a sharp pain down my entire side.

"Agh!" I grunted, my knees buckled underneath me and I struggled to stand. "Dammit," I cursed to myself, "Ita watch it, these needles are poisoned!"

"Are you okay?" Ita asked, worry taking over his voice.

I pulled the needle out, my eyes growing heavy. "Don't worry about me," I said, "Look, if I get hit again, take my weapons pouch and make a run for it."

"Ari, that's not really an option…" Ita said in a low voice.

I glared back at him, "Itachi, now is not the time to be getting sentimental!"

"I'm not getting sentimental!" Ita barked back. At that my stomach sank slightly, "Look!"

The owner of the poison needles leapt out of hiding. He was a tall, lengthy man in a really nice button-up shirt with a narrow face and squinted eyes. He didn't look like much, but I recognized his face from at least a dozen textbooks.

"Haru of the venom…" I muttered, the air rushing out of my lungs. Haru had two specialties: he was a renowned poison maker, the only rival of Sasori of the Red Sand, and was known as the best sensory-type ninja in the entire world. I learned two things upon glancing at the man: 1) that needle was my death sentence, and 2) there was no chance in hell that Itachi would be able to get away from him.

"Wait," I breathed, "then your guy is…?"

"Kokoro the Terrible…" Itachi finished, his voice grave. Kokoro was another name in the textbooks. He was one of those guys that you hear about in legends. He was an olive-skinned man with stringy black hair and beady eyes. Standing at seven feet tall and just under 400 lbs, all muscle, Itachi and I didn't even come close in matching him in size and strength if you combined the two of us.

And together, Kokoro and Haru were feared as the ultimate tag team. Running into those two was a death sentence and the only other tag team in history as great as them were the Cloud's Silver and Gold brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku.

And they were the only ones before Madara that had ever taken my dad on and lived to tell the tale.

And they did that by eating part of his stomach after he ate them….

Dad vomited continuously for a week after that incident…thinking of them still sends shivers up my spine.

Alone, we probably could have taken them on. While Kokoro was massive and was probably one of the strongest men alive, he was not the brightest bulb in the box. He could easily overwhelm us in battle, but it wouldn't be hard for us to retreat and call for back-up, or even uses Itachi's sharingan to cast him under a genjutsu. And while Haru was incredibly intelligent and was a potions master with accurate aim, he was also fairly weak and predominantly a long-distance fighter. As long as we stayed on our toes and could dodge his needles, it would be hardly any effort for Itachi and me to take him out.

But together…they were called the Brain and Brawn for a reason. Every weakness that one had, the other made up for. Haru came up with all the battle strategies for the two and was immune to genjutsu. And being a sensory type, it was impossible for us to escape from him once he learned our chakra signatures. And while Haru was incredibly weak in battle, Kokoro used century-old pine trees as baseball bats. All he needed to do was listen for Haru to tell him where we were hiding and we were done for.

I panted, my vision growing blurry. I coughed and hacked up something that was caught in my throat, but as it came up, I tasted blood. I spat it out, a drop of crimson spilled down my cheek.

"Ari!" Itachi called out to me.

"I'm fine!" I lied.

"Hmph," Haru sighed placing his hands on his hips, "you're a cute little thing, aren't you. It's a shame we were ordered to take you out, or I might have taken you out for a nice night…"

"Hands off, creep," I spat back at him, heaving.

"Oh, a feisty one, aren't we?" Haru hissed.

"Hey, Haru, why would the Leaf send out two kids to send that scroll to the Sand? It doesn't make sense," Kokoro said in a deep, slow voice.

"Who know, Kokoro, who cares," Haru sighed and then grinned devilishly at me, "it won't take much to take them down."

"Ita, you got any ideas?" I whispered. It was getting so hard to stay conscious, much less stand up.

"For you, just stay awake," Ita ordered, "I'm not letting you die on me."

Slowly, Itachi grasped hold of both my hands and knelt down, watching the other two carefully.

"Kokoro," Haru ordered, "Get them."

At that, Kokoro lunged at us, but Itachi was quicker. He leapt into a backflip and scooped me up into his arms before taking off into the trees.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"It's fight or flight," Itachi responded, "Our mission is to deliver that scroll, if we can get to the wind village, we'll be safe."

"You can't hide from me, boyo!" Haru called out, "it doesn't matter how fast you are, I _will_ find you!"

I caught movement to our right and then a shower of senbon came straight at us. Itachi barely managed to deflect all of them and fell to the ground, as he was brought to a halt. That was another thing about Haru…he was incredibly fast. I probably could have competed with him but I was temporarily immobile.

Itachi set me down momentarily upon my request. I was weakened, but I could still fight. I pulled out a kunai and braced myself. Haru landed on a tree branch above us and grinned.

"The only way you'd be able to even think of hiding from me is if you could somehow mask your chakra signature!" he bellowed. We heard loud thumping in the distance: Kokoro was catching up to us.

But that was it! An idea flashed in my mind. Ita must've had the same idea too because we both glanced at each other. Among the obnoxious amount of inhuman things my father gave me from my senses, to my speed, to my strength, my mother also had a signature ability that I inherited: I was a psychic. My psychic abilities were limited compared to hers, but I was capable of placing a block on my chakra points, thus erasing my chakra signature. Through touch, I could also block off Itachi's. If we could gain enough distance on Haru and I hid our chakra at the right time, we would be invisible to Haru and could get away.

I went to grab hold of Itachi's hand, but Kokoro proved much faster than I anticipated as he came barreling through, swinging an entire tree at us. Itachi leapt away and I collapsed on to the ground, my muscles freezing up and keeping me from dodging efficiently.

"The poison is running its course, I see," Haru mentioned, but frowned, "however you are incredibly resistant to it. A normal human would be dead already. But no matter, you will soon join the rest of my victims within the hour."

"Not on my watch!" Itachi shouted back, lunging at Haru. The potions master was caught off guard and Itachi managed to strike him in the head, slicing his forehead open. Before Itachi could do any serious damage, however, Kokoro came back around and punched Itachi hard, knocking him to the ground.

"ITA!" I screamed, trying to get up. Dammit, why wouldn't my body do what I was telling it to? Itachi staggered onto all fours, but then collapsed again.

"Hmph," Haru chuckled, "young lovers, I see…well, I'm afraid childish emotions as that have no place on the battlefield. You can join your girlfriend in the afterlife!" With that, Haru drew a handful of his poison needles.

"Itachi!" I screamed, "MOVE!" With all the strength that I had, I pushed myself to my feet and sprinted to Itachi's side. At about that time, Itachi had recovered enough to get up and react, but he was too late. Haru released the needles and I acted only on instinct. I grasped hold of his waist, pushing him back to the ground as all ten of the needles struck my side. I fell onto my stomach and rolled over, clutching my sides as I coughed blood and wheezed in pain.

"ARI!" Itachi cried as he rushed to my side, attempting to pull the needles out. He was too late though, my limps were going numb, my chest burned, and it felt like I was being stabbed all over.

"Ita…go…!" I ordered him weakly. "The scroll…go…!" Itachi's eyes were wild and bloodshot, unable to focus on me completely—he must have suffered some serious head trauma—but instead of doing as I told, he scooped me back into his arms and took off again.

"Ari, it'd be really nice if you could teach me how to mask my chakra right now…" Ita mumbled, mostly to himself. I glanced up at him, we were weaving around as we ran, he couldn't even keep his balance. It took all of my energy, but I grasped hold of one of his hands which cradled me and erased both of our chakra signatures. Itachi glanced down at me slightly confused, his cheeks flushed and his eyes watery.

A few minutes later we heard Haru call out, "What? Where did they go?"

Itachi took that as his cue to bunker down and hide. There was a small cave underneath some tree roots which we had passed earlier, and we slid into there, Itachi curled into a ball and held me close, unconsciously rocking me back and forth as he did when Sasuke was little. They searched all over for us, even passed over our hiding place twice, but they couldn't find us.

"I thought you couldn't lose people, Haru," Kokoro sighed sadly, "Man…and I wanted to beat that ponytail guy's head in…"

Itachi held me tighter but otherwise remained calm.

"I didn't lose tem, Kokoro! They're just sneaky little brats is all," Haru barked back. The two passed, and we were able to relax for a minute.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit…!" Itachi cursed, "what are we supposed to do…?"

I wanted to tell him to calm down but it took everything I had to stay awake and keep our chakra blocks on. There was no way I could even open my mouth. My head leaned against his chest, his heart raced a million miles a minute. Ita was panicking. This was so unlike him, but for whatever reason, my compromised position and the best tag team in the world coming after us kept him from thinking clearly.

"We need a plan…dammit, what do we do…?" Itachi whispered more to himself, "Ari? Are you awake? Please tell me you're awake…"

Calm down, Ponytail, I was fine. I groaned on the inside. Itachi hadn't even realized yet that we had the element of surprise now. With that, it would be easy to take the two down. If we could sneak up on them, Itachi could cast a genjutsu on Kokoro and use him to kill Haru and then himself.

It'd be great if I could tell him that…man…if only there was away for me to communicate with Ita…

…and he was so warm…

"Did you say something?" Itachi asked. I glanced up at him feebly. What? Itachi's eyes widened in confusion.

_*Am I hearing her thoughts?*_ I heard his voice say, but his mouth didn't move. For a brief moment the adrenaline rushing through me gave me enough energy to yelp.

_*Itachi!*_ I thought, looking at him. He jumped and turned to look at me, his eyes wide.

"Was that…are you thinking to me…?" he asked in a panic. I nodded feebly.

_*Okay, how many more weird tricks can she come up with…?*_

_*Hey!*_

"You can hear me too?" he asked. Again, I nodded. Itachi's heart began to race and he started breathing heavily.

_*Ita, you have got to calm down,* _I thought, _*listen to me; I have no idea how much longer I can keep our chakra invisible, so you have to move quick. We have the element of surprise right now. If you can sneak up on Kokoro and cast a genjutsu on him, find a way to turn him against Haru so they take each other out.*_

_*I don't know if I can do that,* _Itachi thought back. We both froze as Haru passed over us and paused. I was getting weaker by the second and I was struggling to keep Ita's chakra suppressed. He then shrugged and walked away. Ita continued, _*Kokoro hit me in the head pretty hard, it's going to take all I've got to get him under a genjutsu, much less control him.*_

_*Then just get him under a genjutsu and we'll go from there. Carry me on your back.*_ Itachi nodded and once the coast was clear he adjusted me so I rode piggy back and leapt into the trees. We caught sight of the duo and slowed our pace, careful not to make a sound.

_*Man, she weighs nothing…does she even eat…?* _I overheard Ita think. If I could, I would've smacked him upside the head.

_*Control your thoughts!* _I barked.

_*Easier said than done, and what about you? I'm starting to wonder if I was poisoned too the way your thoughts are pushing into my head,* _Ita retorted.

_*Okay, if we make it out of here alive, we'll have to work on training this,*_ I said, _*how close do you think you can get?*_

_*Not much more, but I can cast a genjutsu on Kokoro from here. I might be able to bring them to us.*_

_*Okay good…I have an idea…do you still have those senbon needles Haru hit me with?*_

Itachi sighed heavily, _*yeah…and they're still dripping with poison…*_

_*good. Hand one to me.*_

_*And what do you think you're going to do?*_

_*I'm going to hit them with their own medicine*_

At this Itachi thought for a moment, calculating all possible strategies as fast as he could. His thought process ran so fast that I was getting a headache, Itachi truly was a genius whether he liked it or not.

_*Okay, did you catch all that?* _he asked.

_*Hell no! What idea did you come up with?* _I asked him.

_*I'm going to try to get Kokoro to lead Haru so he's right underneath us, then I'm going to lower you enough so that when I drop you, you have a clear shot at Haru and can take him down. Then I'll finish off Kokoro,*_ Itachi explained.

_*You're going to lower me,_* I repeated, _*Won't Haru hear us?*_

_*Haru is dependent on his sensory abilities, he's practically helpless without them. If Kokoro has him distracted, he won't notice you cutting him down until it's too late.*_

_*Alright, let's do it,* _I said. Itachi's genjutsu couldn't activate soon enough. It was getting harder and harder to keep my focus, and I could tell Haru was beginning to pick up on our presence. If I lost it, it would be all over. But alas, Kokoro stiffened suddenly and began walking towards us.

"Kokoro! Where are you going?" Haru asked nervously, following close behind. Itachi was right, Haru felt helpless not knowing where we were. We could easily sneak up on him now.

And we were about to.

I clutched the senbon needle tightly in my hand. Itachi squatted and turned upside down on the tree, his chakra holding his feet to the trunk. He held me by the armpits as I hung over Haru as he passed under me. I held my breath, expecting him to look up, but he didn't Kokoro stopped and so did Haru. We held our position over them for what felt like hours.

_*One* _Itachi thought

_*Two_* I responded weakly. Suddenly my strength left me and I suppressed a cough, blood burbled in the back of my throat and my chakra block vanished. Haru jumped and looked up.

"What the-?" He shouted

"THREE!" Itachi shouted simultaneously and let go of me. I fell to the ground, striking Haru in the shoulder with his poison. Haru fell backwards as I crumpled to the ground. He sat up, holding his shoulder, his face pale. It was amazing how face his poison could take effect.

"Kokoro! Snap out of it!" Haru ordered as he staggered to the side uneasily. Kokoro struggled to break through the genjutsu but managed to keep Itachi from striking him. Haru lunged at me, attempting to beat me. "You bitch!" he screamed, "I'll kill you!"

Unable to stand on my feet any more, I rolled around haphazardly, trying to pull a kunai out of my pouch. I managed to grasp hold of one and as Haru knelt down to strike me, I stood up with every ounce of my remaining strength and slit his throat. Haru crumpled to the ground immediately. The adrenaline rushing through my veins gave me enough momentary strength to stand, I looked over and Itachi finally struggled his way to jabbing his senbon into Kokoro's throat, causing the giant to collapse, foam at the mouth, and die. He ran over to me.

"Is it over…?" he asked, looking around with his sharingan. There were no other signs of life other than us two. We were only three miles from the border.

"I think it is…I think we're…in the clear…" I managed to say, my knees buckling underneath me. Ita leaned towards me, grasping my shoulders.

"We need to get you medical attention now," Itachi said, worry etching through his voice.

"I'm…fine…" I mustered, still staring at the dead men before us in awe.

They were the unbeatable tag team just like Kinkaku and Ginkaku were.

But we just beat them.

First there was Silver and Gold of the Cloud.

Then Brain and Brawn of the Stone.

And now us from the Leaf.

We later received several nicknames of our own as we became the new tag team to beat. Among the most popular were Silent and Deadly, See No Evil and Hear No Evil, and most recently we became known as Madara and Kurama as well as the Star-Crossed Lovers, but those two were more as a joke. But in the moment, it hadn't occurred to either of us of how well-known we'd become after this encounter, because as I lost consciousness, Itachi just about lost his sanity.

"Ari…?" Itachi asked, his voice fading in my ears. My vision blurred heavily. I couldn't stay awake anymore. My knees crumbled underneath me and I fell to the ground.

As darkness enveloped me, all I could hear were Itachi's screams.


	6. Chapter 5: Dinner with the Uchiha!

**Ari**

I drifted in and out of a dream as I awoke; my parents and Kushina and Minato pleading for me to stay with them as their images flickered with the bright lights that stared down at me. I wanted to stay with the four, be in their presence and remain the little girl they knew so well for forever. Not to mention, every time the lights glared down at me, an unbearable aching would overtake my body.

"…and the patients name?" I heard a stranger's voice ask.

"Ariala Drake," Ita's voice answered. I suddenly grew very confused and disoriented. Drake? My surname was Uzumaki…but then as I found myself in a more stable form of consciousness, I remembered that for the sake of protecting my identity as my father's daughter, I went under a different surname out of Kushina and Minato's fears that my ties to the Uzumaki clan without the red hair would raise some questions.

"Age?"

"Thirteen."

"How long has she been unconscious for?" the stranger asked again.

"Three days, sir," Ita answered.

"And she received proper treatment for poisoning upon arriving in Sunagakure?"

"Yes sir."

Beside me I heard curtains being pulled on and a dark silhouette stood over me as even more light forced its way into my eyes. I moaned and squinted as I finally opened my eyes fully.

"She's waking up," a woman answered, "good morning, sleepy head!"

I looked around as my vision came into focus. A nurse with a Sand Village headband on stood over me, smiling sweetly. At the door where Itachi's voice came from stood a doctor and Ita. I was in a hospital room.

Itachi ran to my side and sat on the bed, his hand gently touching my shoulder. His touch sent a shock to my system for a moment and I gasped.

"Ari! Oh thank God you're alright," Ita sighed, his voice shaking. I stared at him for a long time, my eyes still trying to focus. His forehead was bandaged tightly, to help mend a moderate to severe concussion, and he was covered in bruises and bandages. His arm was even in a sling.

"You look terrible," I croaked, though I doubt I looked much better.

At that, Itachi let out a relieved chuckle, wiping his eyes. The nurse also laughed, "Quite the sense of humor, I see, well I'm glad to see that."

I cleared my throat and a burning sensation attacked it, it was so dry, "W-water…" I moaned. The nurse went over and grabbed a cup of water with a bendy straw like they use for kids and then propped me up with pillows and adjusted my bed before holding out the cup in front of me so I could grasp the straw with my lips. The entire time, Itachi grasped my hand tightly. It was then when I remembered all that had happened.

"How did I get here?" I asked when I finished my water, my strength and my awareness slowly returning.

This time the doctor stepped forward and began to speak. He smiled politely at me, "You took quite a number out there, kid. From what your partner tells me, you two ran into some serious trouble on your way to deliver us the scroll. And I must say that I am impressed, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone surviving being poisoned by Haru of the Venom."

I nodded feebly. Part of me was frustrated with myself. I had gone on plenty of A-ranked missions before. Heck, I'd even gone on a handful of S-ranked missions, but I'd never wound up in the hospital like this, nor have I had that much trouble. Especially not when Ita was with me. But I had to remind myself, we had just gone up against the strongest duo in the world. To even be alive was a miracle.

I turned to Itachi, "…but I collapsed in the field…did you…?"

"You're friend here carried you all the way here," the nurse explained, "he got you to border and we met by some of our medical ninja and they were able to give you some first-aid, but he rushed you to the hospital as fast as he could. I think he even made it here in record time, despite his broken arm and concussion. Though this young man refused any treatment until he knew you were in a stable condition."

I stared at Itachi with wide eyes. Ita's cheeks were a soft pink and he looked down, avoiding eye contact with me. "Ita…" I said, "you really did that…?"

Itachi shrugged, "What was I supposed to do?"

I remained silent for a long while as the doctor spoke with the nurse and attempted to explain some things about my condition to me. I didn't pay attention to a single word of it, my eyes were fixated on Ita as he stared intently at the doctor, taking in his instructions so he could help me recover after we left. There was some antidote I had to take every so often…but Ita…he really did that?

I glanced down at our hands, his still grasped hold of mine. My heart pounded for a second, could he still hear my thoughts?

I eyed him intently, but Itachi showed no signs of hearing me.

_*Ita?*_ I asked, trying to see if I could communicate with him. Itachi jumped slightly but kept his eyes on the doctor.

_*Woah! I wasn't expecting that…*_ he thought, _*How come I can hear you now? After you passed out I could see your dreams for a little bit, but I let go of you hand to keep from intruding. But I haven't heard you at all since you woke up until now.* _

_*Really? Huh…*_

_*What?*_

_*I'll explain later…*_ And with that I blocked my thoughts. Itachi grimaced but continued to listen to the doctor. So…he couldn't hear my thoughts unless I wanted him to, and it was only when we held hands when we were connected. I focused slightly on Ita for a moment, listening to soft murmurs within his thoughts. I blocked them off, allowing his mind some privacy. So he could only hear me if I wanted him to, but I could hear him whenever I wanted.

Well this was a handy little power…

The doctor stepped out of the room and the nurse asked me if I wanted anything to eat. I was starving. She went out to order some food for me from the cafeteria, leaving only Itachi and I.

I leaned back against my pillows, resting my head. I then turned to look at Itachi, but he was silent and still avoiding eye contact.

"Okay, so I think I figured that mind thing out," I began.

"Hm?" Itachi responded. I sighed heavily but continued.

"So it works when we're holding hands and I have to open up some kind of channel between our minds. How that works, I don't know, but we can't hear each other unless I want us to," I explained, leaving out the part about me being able to hear him at all times. But then I thought for a moment and asked, "wait, so you could hear my thoughts when I was unconscious?"

"Mmhmm," Itachi answered.

I raised an eyebrow, "elaborate? Please?"

"Well, I could tell you were dreaming. I saw images of Minato and Kushina a lot. There were a few other people in your dreams…a red-haired woman with eyes like yours and…a tall man with red eyes who looked a lot like you…were those your parents?" Itachi said.

"Probably," I nodded. Then my face flushed as some of my dreams crept back into my memory, "how much did you see…?"

"Well at one point I let go of your hand," Itachi said, "some of your dreams seemed to be personal and I didn't want to intrude."

"How so…?" I asked. Oh god…he didn't find out about Dad, did he?"

"Hn…"

"Ita….spill it,"

"Well, after your parents appeared I saw the NineTailed Fox a lot, though he wasn't attacking you. And then…mmm," Itachi resonded.

Oh no, here it comes… "And then…?"

"Well for some reason, I showed up."

…..

…

What?

"Oh?" I laughed nervously. Oh shit, this was even worse!

"Like I said, I saw a lot of your parents and I wasn't sure why I was there, but I figured there were some childhood memories that were really personal so at that point I just let go of your hand. Your thoughts are yours, you know?" Ita brought up.

I sighed in relief, but I had no idea what he thought of me right now. Ita seeing himself in my dreams…how embarrassing! Though I was still holding his hand….

_*Ari…if only I…if only I…*_ I heard him stammer. I glanced at him slightly confused; his gaze still wouldn't meet mine. I squeezed his hand a little tighter and noticed that he was trembling.

"Ita…?" I asked, "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Hm," Itachi shook his head, "No."

"You're humming," I pointed out. And just like every time I've said something about it, every time since we were kids, Ita grimaced, his eyes narrowing as he pushed down a red face. It still cracked me up how I could get him like that. But then he did something I wasn't expecting in the slightest.

At first Ita shook his head furiously, biting his lip. His eyes watered a little as he began, "It's just that I thought..I…" He then made the mistake of finally meeting my gaze, and I saw the anguish that flooded his dark, beautiful eyes. When we made eye contact, his face contorted as he choked out a sob, turning his head downward to hide his tears. "I thought I'd lost you…!"

And with that, he pulled his bad arm out of the sling and grasped the back of my head with his free hand and pulled me to his chest as he cried. "I'm sorry, I…I don't know what's wrong with me but…I couldn't stand the thought of you dying! And when they wheeled you into the operating room to extract the poison…when they took you away from me…I didn't know what I was going to do if you died…."

"Ita…" I whimpered. Tears stung the corners of my eyes and I allowed one to escape. My hand still held his, and I squeezed it tightly. I then pulled away from him as he sniffled and furiously wiped the tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I shouldn't be acting like this…I don't know what came over me…" but as much as he apologized and wiped his eyes, he couldn't stop crying. My heart sank as I watched him. I hadn't realized how much I had worried him.

Not sure how to react, I gently let go of his hand and grasped his bad arm, "I thought you broke that arm…"

"Dislocated the shoulder," Ita corrected, "I can still move it…"

"But you shouldn't" I noted, "you have to let the joint heal."

"Sorry," Ita whispered as I guided his arm back into the sling. I then looked back up at him, my lip quivered slightly.

"No, I'm sorry," I said, "I was too careless…and if I had known how worried you would be about me, I—"

Ita cut me off, suddenly planting his lips on mine. My eyes widened in shock, I couldn't breathe. His kiss was gentle and warm, yet strong and passionate. I had never kissed anyone before, and I stiffened like a board as his lips touched mine.

As I was finally realizing what was happening, Ita broke away from me, his eyes widened in shock.

"I-Ita…?" I breathed. What…what was he thinking?!

"I am so sorry…" Ita mumbled, standing up slowly and backing away from me, "I don't know…."

At that point, the nurse came back in with a tray of food. "Here you go, dear!" the nurse said jubilantly as she placed the tray on my lap. I stared down at the food, my stomach growling. For a moment, I forgot about what had just happened. The nurse turned back to Itachi, "Young man, I think you've had enough excitement for one day. You're still a patient here and you should go get some rest, okay?"

Itachi nodded, his face ghostly pale.

"Everything alright, hon?" the nurse asked.

"Y-yeah," Ita stammered, "I just remembered that I haven't delivered the Kazekage that scroll just yet. I should probably go do that."

"No need to," the nurse said, "Lord Kazekage knows where you two are. He won't take the scroll until you are both well enough to leave."

"Well then…I'm going to go get some food of my own…" Itachi said, "I could use the exercise…"

"Suit yourself, but afterwards, you need to get some rest," the nurse ordered.

"Understood," Itachi said quickly, "Thank you, ma'am!"

I looked up, my face stuffed to the brim with food as I realized he was leaving. I gulped down the mouthful hard and called out, "Ita! Wait!" just as he left the room.

Did that actually happen?

* * *

It had almost been a year since the mission that promoted Itachi and I to the ANBU. We were called away on missions just about every day, and sometimes we'd be gone for weeks on end. I felt bad for leaving Naruto alone, but every time I came back, he awaited me patiently at my front door, his arms spread wide for a hug and stories of my travels.

"That's so cool!" he would usually say, standing on his chair as we ate dinner and interrupting my story yet again, "Do you think I'll get to do that when I become Hokage?"

"I'm sure you will," I would say methodically, "but sit down and eat your greens first."

And at that, Naruto would groan, "Ariiii! You aren't my mom!"

"Hey now, just someone has to do that job for you. If you don't eat your vegetables, you won't grow up to be a big and strong Hokage!"

Naruto would pout and glare at me, but slowly take a bite out of whatever was on his plate and muscle down the rest of his meal.

Itachi and I also saw a lot more of each other after we were promoted. That kiss, however, never came up in conversation. He never brought it up and he acted as if nothing happened in that hospital room, so I brushed off the incident as a slight onset of momentary Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder coupled with a concussion. Nothing more. He was probably just freaked out about my near death experience and didn't know how to handle it.

But our friendship grew stronger as we trained our newly discovered ability to read each other's minds. As we got better, our fighting and strategies became incredibly more efficient. The Leaf buzzed with news of this Ultimate Tag Team after we defeated Haru and Kokoro, and we were beginning to develop names for ourselves. As we became more and more unbeatable, the Hokage quickly caught on and soon only sent the two of us on missions together. Shisui joined ANBU shortly after we did and he would sometimes accompany us on missions, but the Leaf's Ultimate Tag Team was inseparable.

Even though Itachi and I grew closer, the rest of the Uchiha suddenly started distancing themselves from the rest of the village. Mikoto still loved having me over, but I could tell Fugaku didn't want anything to do with me. And then finally it all blew up between he and I.

It started out as an afternoon on the trampoline with Saya. She too had been growing more quiet around me. She had even stopped asking me about Itachi.

"Saya?" I asked her as I came out of a backflip.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she brushed me off quickly as she stepped out of the trampoline. I followed close behind, hopping into the grass. At around that time, we saw Itachi as he opened up the gate to the backyard and came over to us.

"Hey, girls, what's going on?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," Saya said, placing her hands on her hips, "Shisui went to run some errands. He'll be back in a few minutes."

"Actually, I was here to see your mom," Itachi said, "my parents were wondering what time you guys were coming over."

"Oh yeah! Um, I think around five-ish, is that okay?" she asked.

"Definitely. Okay, I'll let my mom know," Itachi said as he turned to leave. I stepped forward slightly and called after him.

"Wait, are you guys having dinner or something?" I asked.

Saya nodded and rolled her eyes as if I were an idiot, "It's Thursday."

I raised an eyebrow. Itachi shook his head, chuckling and he elaborated, "every other Thursday our families get together for dinner and either one of our houses. It's a lot of fun and we usually have a movie or game night."

"That does sound like fun," I thought out loud…family night…wouldn't that be nice…to have that perfect family dinner…

"Say, why don't you come over tonight?" Itachi offered. I jumped and froze.

"Uh, what?" I asked, then waved my hands in front of me, "Oh, no, I couldn't possibly do that! I mean, Mom always said that dinner was the most important time for family and I don't want to intrude on that…and besides, Naruto is coming over tonight and I have to have dinner ready for him…"

"Then bring Naruto with you," Itachi said, "it'd be fun."

At that Saya jumped and glared at Itachi, she grew nervous and said, "Itachi, I don't think that's such a good idea…"

"Why not? It'd be fun," Ita said, "and Naruto and Sasuke are classmates, it'd be good if those two had someone to play with."

"You sure about this?" I asked, "I mean, your parents will be okay with this?"

Ita nodded and smiled, "you haven't been over in a while and my mom has been dying to see you again. Don't worry. I'll see you at five then?"

"Y-yeah!" I said. As I walked home to get ready for dinner I jumped with excitement. Finally, I could be a part of a nice family dinner. And with Naruto too! When Naruto came home from school, I had him shower and get ready and we played tag the whole way over to Ita's.

Unfortunately, fish don't survive too well out of water. At all. And that's what Naruto and I were on that night. Fish out of water. The first part of the memo I had missed was that apparently Thursday Night Dinner at the Uchiha was a fairly formal occasion. Ita opened the door with a smile and neatly combed hair and a button-down shirt and corduroy pants. I stepped in wearing a worn-out v-neck t-shirt and ripped jean shorts. I hadn't even bothered to brush my hair either.

"Sorry," Ita apologized over and over again, "it's become a habit so I forgot to warn you about the attire. I'm so sorry."

Mikoto was thrilled to see me, Sasuke had boatloads of things to tell me, and Fugaku even managed to force a smile and a polite greeting. But everyone stared at Naruto like he was some alien. No one bothered to say two words to him.

"Hey Sasuke," I said, patting the little boy on the head, "you're classmates with Naruto, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said smiling.

"Have you two ever introduced yourselves to each other?" I asked. At that, Naruto peered around me shyly, his blue eyes hopeful and watching Sasuke intently. Sasuke grew a little uneasy watching Naruto, his nose cringing slightly.

"No…" Sasuke mumbled.

Naruto stepped out in front of me, a big smile on his face, as he held out his hand and announced, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"That's nice…" Sasuke muttered as he turned to leave. Ita and I both stared at the two boys and exchanged nervous glances. Well this was awkard…

Naruto's smile fell with his hand and he looked to the ground. He rubbed his eyes and let out a soft grunt. I knelt down and held his shoulders as I whispered, "Sasuke's just a little shy is all, don't take that to heart. He'll come around once he warms up to you."

At least…that's what I hoped.

Sitting at the dinner table didn't get much better. I learned in the ten minutes that we sat there, barely grazing through our appetizers, that Naruto and I had absolutely no table manners.

Well, Naruto was a given, I was constantly fighting with him to sit at the table properly and chew his food, and use his fork…but what I didn't realize, however, that despite being able to remember my parents as well as Kushina's and Minato's teachings about sitting at the dinner table, I ate like a savage. Maybe it was the habits I had picked up from going on one too many missions. Maybe it was just that I had come unprepared, expecting this dinner to be different from previous gatherings at the Uchiha's house when I was younger. Maybe it was a mix of the two. But I never realized, that you are supposed to use a different fork with every course, nor is there any such thing as finger food at a proper meal. And don't even get me started about the knives.

Naruto didn't seem to care and dug right into his food, grabbing hold of the stuffed mushrooms with his hands and shoving them into his mouth. I started to dig in but stopped when I noticed no one else had started eating, and everyone was staring at Naruto.

"Psst," I whispered quietly. He didn't hear me. I reached my leg under the table and kicked the boy's shin and Naruto paused and glanced at me. I swiftly motioned for him to stop eating and Naruto spit out his food.

Fugaku cleared his throat, "shall we say grace now that we've helped ourselves?" He glared at Naruto and then shot me a dirty look. Mikoto elbowed her husband for him to stop so he sighed and opened his palms, we all joined hands at the table as Fugaku said a quick prayer. Now, it was time to dig in.

I hadn't even gotten food on my plate when I heard Sasuke shriek, "WILL YOU LET GO OF ME?"

We all froze and saw the two boys squirming and pushing on each other.

"I thought we were supposed to hold hands!" Naruto fought back, "And you wouldn't take mine, so why won't you do it?"

"We already said grace! And you're gross, so why would I even touch you!"

"Hey, both of you, knock it off," Itachi ordered sternly.

"But he started it!" both boys pushed away and pointed at each other, yelling the same thing at the same time.

"I don't care who started it, this is supposed to be a family gathering! No fighting at the table!" Ita said.

At that, Naruto slunk down in his chair and stopped. He turned to Sasuke and said, "Sorry…" I sighed in relief at Naruto's actions. He was constantly causing trouble, but in that moment I realized that he probably wasn't the instigator in most of the messes he got himself in.

But Sasuke continued, "He's not family! He's not even my friend!"

At that, Naruto shot back up and started arguing with Sasuke.

Good feeling gone.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto shouted back, "how many friends do you have? You're just a stuck up jerk who doesn't talk to anyone!"

"Oh! Like you should be talking! You don't have any friends! And I don't talk to losers!"

"Who're you calling a loser? I'd watch your mouth because you're talking to the next Hokage!"

At that Sasuke spat out a mean little laugh, "How could someone like you be Hokage? No one likes you, you freak! You're just a loser that everyone hates!"

At that, Naruto's rage boiled over, "THAT'S IT!" Naruto lunged at Sasuke and threw a punch at him, but Sasuke quickly toppled over and overwhelmed Naruto, beating the little boy to a pulp.

"Naruto!" I cried, rushing over in an attempt to pull them apart, "Sasuke, stop it!"

Sasuke refused to listen and continued to punch Naruto. The blond-haired boy tried to shield his face but Sasuke stood and started to kick him, beating his hands into his face. Behind me, Saya let out a scream and it took me, Itachi, and Shisui combined to finally pull the two apart. Itachi held Sasuke by the waist, who struggled in his older brother's grasp. I held Naruto by his waist who hunkered down into me. Shisui stood between us.

"I think we've had enough excitement for one day!" Shisui stated angrily, shooting Naruto a glare. Naruto trembled in my arms. I looked down at him, his face was puffy and swollen. His nose and lip were bleeding, and a black-eye was forming. The boy in my arms whimpered and then broke out into sobs.

"I NEVER EVEN DID ANYTHING TO YOU!" Naruto waled.

"Naruto…" I whispered. The boy pushed himself out of my arms and glared at me, his eyes full of sadness and pain.

"I hate you! I hate all of you! I wish you had never brought me here in the first place!" he cried as he ran past me and out the door, sobbing. I stood up and quickly went to follow him, but Saya grabbed my arm.

"Let him go, Ari," Saya said, "he isn't even worth your time."

"Excuse you?" I barked, glaring at her.

"Ari, he's a monster! You're wasting your time with him; he doesn't even deserve your kindness! And look what he did to Sasuke!" she said, gesturing at the boy. I eyed Sasuke up and down. So far all I could see was a red cheek from where Naruto had slapped him.

I gasped out loud. This was insulting! Was I the only one who could see that Naruto wasn't the one who started it? I glared at Saya and asked sarcastically, "Who are you?"

I took a step away from Saya and finally, Fugaku spoke up, "If you go after that boy, you will not be welcomed back in this house again."

"Fugaku!" Mikoto scolded, "Isn't that a little extreme?"

Fugaku ignored his wife, "I have tolerated your wild behavior in my house for long enough. It was fine for a while but ever since you started taking care of that garbage, you've caused nothing but trouble for me."

"Oh really?" I retorted, "and what have I done that was so wrong? Or are you just pissed that your son is friends with some half-breed street rat that's accepting to everyone and not just the snobby upper class like yourself?"

Fugaku's eyes widened and he glared at me fiercely, "Listen, you brat. You have no place bringing some freakshow kid like that into my house, bringing danger to my son, and then attempt to bring this on like it's my fault! I'm willing to forgive you for today, but you can't be seeing that boy again."

"Well, I guess I don't need your forgiveness then," I responded, "Good day to you, sir!"

"Why the hell do you associate with that brat anyway?" Fugaku roared, "He's nothing! He has no place in this world! He's a monster! A demon! You're better off without him, so why—"

"BECAUSE HE'S LIKE ME!" I roared back. Everyone grew silent and stared at me, their eyes wide.

"Ari, he's nothing like you—" Saya cooed, "don't listen to what the other girls say—"

"Oh my god I am so _sick_ your short-sighted, snobby-nosed, judgmental clan!" I screamed at her. Her eyes widened and her face paled as she frowned with concern. I continued, "I don't give a rat's ass about what other people say about me! And you know why? Because _none of you _know _anything_ about me! You just don't! So what gives any of you the right to tell me what to do? You can say what you want to me, but I swear if any of you treat Naruto like that again, I _will_ kill you! I don't care what the charges! He hasn't done anything except to have been born in the wrong place at the wrong time! He's just a little boy!" I took a breath, my body shook violently. Tears welled in my eyes. No, I wasn't going to cry…I wasn't going to cry. Itachi took a step towards me and reached his hand out but I slapped it away, glaring at him. To my dismay, the tears began to fall and I whimpered, "You never gave him a chance!"

With that, I bolted out the door, wiping the tears out of my eyes. I ran home, but Naruto wasn't there, so I ran to his apartment. He wasn't there either. Terrified, I roamed the city calling out Naruto's name.

"Naruto! Please! Come out! I'm sorry!" I cried. The longer I searched, and the longer I failed to hear a response, the more uncontrolled my crying became until I fell to my knees sobbing. I covered my eyes and leaned forward, pressing my forehead against the ground as I curled into a ball. I felt helpless. Lord only knew where Naruto was or if he was okay.

A hand reached out and tapped my shoulder.

I jumped and turned around to see Itachi standing over me, a sad smile on his face. "Hey now, no need to cry."

"Don't coddle me!" I barked, swiping him away, "And what do you want…?"

Itachi knelt down and touched his hand to my cheek, wiping my tears away with this thumb. I pursed my lips and tried to stop crying, but I couldn't.

"I think this is the first time I've seen you cry…" he said quietly. I glared at him and he corrected himself, "I came to apologize for my family. And I'm so sorry I didn't give you enough of a heads-up about dinner tonight. This whole thing is my fault. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," I whimpered, wiping my nose, "I'm just too different to fit into a family picture…and I hadn't realized just how much people hated Naruto…I shouldn't have put him in this situation."

"Ari, don't blame this whole thing on yourself," Ita cooed, rubbing my shoulder, "you are right to take Naruto in, and it isn't fair for him to be treated so poorly for a situation that he couldn't control. In reality, it should be my family, no, all of Konoha, who should be more open-minded and accepting of him. You have a kind heart Ari, I just wish my father could see that."

I sniffled, "Thanks…I just wish…I just wish everyone would give him a chance…I mean, he may be a jinchuuriki but he's still human. Unlike me, he still has a chance to fit in somewhere."

"Now what do you mean by that?"Ita asked, confused, "you're still human too. And you have a chance…don't you?"

I said nothing.

"Ari?"

I bit my lip.

"Ari, tell me what's really going on," Ita pleaded, shaking my shoulder lightly.

"Well, it's no secret that I'm different from everyone else," I began, my chest hollow. There was no way I could tell him.

"Being different is good," Ita said, "but I can't help but notice that you've been hiding something from me since the very beginning…and after what you've said tonight…Ari, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

My lip quivered, the tears threatening to poor out again. Dammit, dammit, dammit!

"Itachi…" I began, my heart pounding, "I'm not entirely human…"

Itachi narrowed his eyes. That wasn't at all what he was expecting. "I'm sorry, but what do you mean?"

"My mom's name…" I breathed, a lump forming in my throat, "is Chinatsu Uzumaki."

At that Itachi's face paled. I don't think he quite understood what I was getting at, but he had heard the stories of the Uzumaki sisters from the early days. He knew what happened to my mother.

"And my dad's name is Kurama…" I explained, "And he's…well, I mean to say that the Kyuubi is…" I broke into sobs as I choked, "The NineTails is my father!"

* * *

**Itachi**

They had found Naruto sitting on the swing outside the academy by himself.

"You want me to go with you?" he offered. Ari shook her head.

"I think I'm just going to take him home," she whispered back, "give him a look over and make sure nothing is sprained or broken."

Itachi nodded in understanding, "I'll leave you two alone then." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders for a brief moment and turned to leave, allowing Ari and Naruto some privacy.

"Ita?" Ari called after him as he left. Itachi turned.

"Yeah?" he asked.

Ari gave a weak smile and said, "Thank you."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Itachi said and made his way home. When he gained some distance, he turned back around and watched as Ari knelt down in front of Naruto. They exchanged words, and at one point Naruto was shaking his head defiantly, but as Ari coaxed him, Itachi could tell Naruto finally gave in and threw his arms around Ari, crying. Ari then lifted Naruto into her arms and proceeded to carry the boy to her house. Itachi then finally made his way to his own home, thinking hard on everything that had happened.

And kicking himself for being so stupid when Ari needed him most.

Itachi had never seen Ari cry before. Well, he had seen her cry once on the night of the NineTails' attack, but he never really counted that. That was more of an extreme situation. But Itachi still occasionally had nightmares about that night, a four-year-old Ari's sobs echoing in his ears.

When Ari broke down into tears, at first Itachi had absolutely no idea what to do. And then when she delivered the biggest bomb shell of all…Itachi was still in shock over that. He had no idea what to think of her.

Was he afraid? Not in the slightest. Itachi had known Ari long enough. Hell, he'd even read her mind on several occasions. Knowing where Ari came from didn't change anything about her. She was still the same little firecracker with a hot temper and a (mostly) happy-go-lucky attitude. Nothing would change that. And in fact, that actually explained a lot about Ari. Her cat-like battle stance that she would take, her speed and strength, her heightened senses, and that wild instinct of hers. But was he in shock? Incredibly so. He had heard the stories of Chinatsu Uzumaki, the woman who tamed the Bijuu, but to most shinobi, the stories never amounted to anything more than that. And Chinatsu had died almost eighty years ago, so how did Ari wind up in Konoha at this point in time? And how did the NineTails even manage to…? Itachi wasn't going to delve too far into that topic. But most of all…how did Ari feel about Naruto, the jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi?

So, Itachi being Itachi, as Ari wept and cried, "The NineTails is my father!" Itachi stood there like a complete idiot at a loss for words.

"_Well…" Itachi started, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Fugaku Uchiha is my father."_

_Ari looked up at Itachi, eyeing him skeptically, "what do you mean by that…?"_

"_Well, you said your father's name was Kurama and he is the Kyuubi," Itachi said, still with no idea with where he was going with this, "so I'm telling you that my father's name is Fugaku and he is the leader of the Uchiha."_

"_But Itachi," Ari repeated, "my dad is the Kyuubi."_

"_And?" Itachi asked, "You're still Ari."_

_Ari nodded and hiccupped, "there is one more thing…Kushina and Minato's son wasn't a stillborn…those two are really Naruto's parents. I don't know why the Third Hokage kept that a secret but…Naruto is my brother as far as I am concerned, and it's my job to protect him. And I hate seeing him being treated this way by people…"_

"_I know," Itachi said, "but that's why he has you, right? And I'll be there to help you as best as I can. I won't leave your side no matter what happens."_

Itachi kicked himself mentally, replaying the conversation in his head over and over again. "Fugaku Uchiha is my father." What was he thinking? He was so stupid!

He groaned as he opened the door to his house. The others had already finished dinner by the time he returned and were sitting in the living room enjoying each other's company.

"Hey Itachi!" Shisui called to him, "I saved ya a seat!"

Itachi peered into the living room; Shisui smiled and patted the space on the couch next to him. Itachi smiled politely and turned his cousin down, "Thanks Shisui, but I think I'm just going to get something to eat first."

At that, his mother stood up, gesturing for Itachi to go into the kitchen, "I saved you a plate, follow me."

Itachi wandered into the kitchen and was surprised to see not one, but three plates waiting for him all wrapped in foil. Mikoto placed two of the plates in a basket along with some forks and napkins and a Tupperware box filled with leftover cake that Shisui's mom had baked.

"I feel bad about what happened," Mother explained, "I figured the least I could do was bring them some dinner, don't you think?"

Itachi nodded in bewilderment, "yeah, I think Ari would really appreciate that."

"So do you want me do deliver the food or would you rather stay the night at Ari's tonight?" Mother asked.

Itachi was caught off guard suddenly, "W-what?"

Mikoto smiled and reached over to kiss her son's forehead, "Itachi, I know you love your father, but sometimes he's wrong too. You don't have to hide your feelings for Ari because of him. And I think you both need each other's company tonight, don't you?"

Itachi stared at his mom in awe, but his face lit up in a bright smile and he hugged her tightly, "Yeah, you're right. And thanks, Mom."

"Not a problem, dear," Mikoto said, "just don't do anything too…risky, alright?"

"Mom!" Itachi groaned, embarrassed, "I'm not like that!"

"I know, I know, but it's my job," Mikoto sighed. She then packed Itachi's plate in the basket and handed it to him. "I think everything is in there," she said, "I'd just be sure to go out the back door. I don't plan to tell your dad where you are until he's cooled down, so for now, you aren't feeling well and went straight to bed. Got it?"

Itachi nodded and went straight for Ari's apartment. When he got there, he peered into the window to see Ari icing Naruto's eye. They were talking and at first Naruto looked displeased, but Ari put on a goofy smile and poked the boy's stomach, saying something silly or motivational, or both, causing Naruto's face to light up as he giggled. Ari then scooped the boy up in her arms in a huge bear hug and spun him around. As she did, Itachi caught a glimpse of Naruto's face.

Geez…Sasuke really did put a number on that poor kid. Itachi didn't know whether to be disappointed in Sasuke for instigating that fight and hurting someone that badly or impressed at how strong his kid brother was. Itachi went to knock on the door, and decided to settle for both feelings.

* * *

**Ari**

As I sat Naruto back down in the chair, his stomach growled. Shit! I forgot all about dinner! I handed Naruto the ice pack and swiftly made my way to the kitchen.

"Keep icing that eye, Naruto, I'll make us something quick for dinner, okay?" I said pulling out pots and pans and digging through the pantry. Man…I meant to go grocery shopping that day but with all the excitement, I had forgotten.

And as if on cue, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, now what?" I groaned, walking over to the door. As I opened it, I saw none other than Itachi, holding a basket on his arm.

"Do you have room for one more at the table?" he asked, holding the basket up, "my mom saved us some leftovers."

I opened the door wider and motioned for him to come in, "You have perfect timing…" I muttered. At that, Ita grinned.

"I try," he said. We went into the kitchen and Ita pulled out all of the food. It was still warm, and even when it was a little squished, it looked incredible. Ita pulled out an entire half of one of Shisui's mom's famous cakes and put it in the freezer. He turned back and said, "since my aunt makes plenty of cakes, my mom thought it'd be best to just leave what was left of this for you to enjoy."

"Wow," I said, smiling slightly, I then tilted my head back and called out, "Dinner's ready!"

Only a few seconds later, Naruto came bolting into the kitchen cheering, but he came to an abrupt halt when he saw Ita. Naruto stopped and glared at him for a while before he finally spoke up and said, "You're that ponytail guy! What are you doing here?"

"Now, Naruto," I said, "that's not a polite way of greeting someone. Ita here brought us dinner. Isn't that nice?"

Naruto eyed Ita skeptically, "So, Ita's your name?"

Itachi grimaced, "my name's actually Itachi." Ita then knelt down and placed his hand on Naruto's head, "Naruto, I am so sorry for what my little brother did to you. That was really mean of him and I just want you to know that Sasuke is sorry for what happened, and I'll make sure that he makes up for it."

Naruto shrugged, "It's alright. Shit happens."

"Naruto!" I scolded, my face flushing.

"What?" he asked.

"Watch your language!" I reminded him, but that boy just shrugged and rolled his eyes as he took a seat at the table. I groaned and placed his plate in front of him and Naruto dug in immediately. "Table manners," I stated as Naruto attempted to use his hands to eat his steak.

Naruto glared back at me, "well it's not like you have any! You just said that you live like a savage compared to the froofroo Uchiha!"

Arrgh! Did he really have to say that in front of Ita? Really? "_Naruto_," I hushed him, "I meant that as a joke! And at least I know how to use a fork!"

I covered my eyes, avoiding Itachi's gaze. This was so embarrassing. But to my surprise, the Uchiha next to me broke out into a fit of laughter.

"No, no, Naruto's right," Itachi giggled, "we really are froofroo!" I shot up and looked at Itachi.

"What?" I asked as both Naruto and Itachi broke out into belly-laughs. Naruto continued to lay on his jokes and minor insults as I attempted to control his tongue, but after a while I gave up. Itachi wasn't being much help and was actually fueling Naruto, so I figured I'd just join in. That evening at the table was full of smiles and jokes. It was probably the best family dinner I had ever had, even if it was incomplete.

After cake, Naruto grew sleepy so I took him up to the guest room and put him to bed. Itachi and I sat on the couch in the living room alone. We were silent for a long time.

"So…" I finally broke the silence, my heart a little heavy, "you're okay…with me? I mean…with everything I told you?"

"You mean your dad?" Itachi clarified. I nodded in response. Ita just smiled and said, "Of course I am! I mean, I'm still a little shocked and there are still some things about that that I'm confused about but that doesn't change who you are. You're still the little girl I met at Kushina's house one day with no idea how to play games."

"Oh, God," I groaned, covering my face, "you still remember that?"

"Of course I do!" Itachi chuckled. He then looked away from me, his face turning a light pink as he said quietly, "How could I forget the first time I laid eyes on the prettiest girl in the Leaf Village…?"

"You're kidding," I breathed out. Where was Ita going with this…?

"No, not at all!" Ita looked me in the eyes with the most sincere expression on his face. He then turned away from me and whispered, "I mean…I've had the biggest crush on you since…"

"I'm sorry, I don't think I caught that," I said, my heart pounding. There was no way, no freaking way that Itachi was telling me what I thought he was telling me.

Itachi took a deep breath and grasped hold of my hand as he finally said, "Ari, I…I can't stop thinking about you. I think you're beautiful and funny and so incredibly amazing. I don't know how you can do most of what you do, but I think it's the greatest thing ever. And…I never wanted to admit it to you, or even myself, I was afraid of ruining our friendship…but ever since that mission where you got poisoned…and you almost got killed…I couldn't let you slip away from me again. I had to tell you…"

I remained silent for a long time. There was only one thing that kept creeping into my head.

"Ari?" Ita asked, his face getting red, "I didn't…creep you out, did I?"

"So that kiss was real," I stated, looking up at him. Itachi jumped and shook his head.

"Of course it was," Itachi said sounding hurt, "why wouldn't it be…?"

I laughed feebly, "all this time I wrote myself off as someone who was way out of your league. So when you kissed me, I figured it was just because of the head trauma."

Itachi rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "well, I admit that I was feeling abnormally courageous that day…but you aren't out of my league, Ari. You're the only girl I can think of…but…I don't want to ruin our friendship, so if you don't have feelings for me, I understand completely. Just think of it as if tonight never happened and—"

"Ita," I cut him off, leaning my head on his shoulder, my heart pounding, "you go from one extreme to the other, you know what?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you aren't humming, your mouth is running at a million miles a minute," I explained. Itachi shook slightly underneath me.

"S-sorry," he stammered.

"It's fine," I said, "I think it's kind of cute…"

"Really?"

"Yeah. In fact I think you're kind of cute even," I said, closing my eyes. This was so weird, us being this close. We were great friends, and we made the ultimate tag team on the battlefield, but as far as I was concerned, that was the only area where we made a great team. But sometimes the two of us were just full of surprises, and this one ranked up there with our mind-reading trick.

"So…you do have feelings for me?" he asked.

"That's not what I said," I teased, and for a moment Ita's face fell. But then I added, "But yes, yes I do." And Itachi sighed in relief. Growing tired, we both we upstairs to my room. It was a normal thing for Itachi to come over to my house and stay late—it usually happened a few nights in a row after an argument with Fugaku when he needed time to vent or get his mind off things; Itachi and his father were growing more and more hostile with each other by the day and I had no idea why—and we'd stay up late sitting on my bed, playing music or watching stupid movies or just talking.

It was almost midnight when I looked at the clock, my eyes were growing heavy. I turned back at Ita, "do you need to be getting home soon or did your dad have an aneurism when he found out where you were going?"

Itachi shook his head, "my mom's orders were for me to stay the night here and make sure you and Naruto were okay."

"Oh," I said. Well that was thoughtful of her, "well, Ita…I hate to offer you the couch."

Itachi looked down and traced circles on the bed, "It's fine, your couch is quite comfy."

I rolled my eyes. It was a piece of crap, and he knew that. My face flushed and I offered, "you could stay in my bed for the night."

"Ari, I can't do that, you shouldn't have to sleep on the couch," Ita said.

"Well…what I mean is…my bed is a full-size and can fit two people…"

"Oh."

"Agh, that's awkward, sorry, I shouldn't even be bringing this up," I laughed nervously. God, I was such an idiot!

"Ari it's fine!" Ita assured, "this isn't any more awkward than my confession. But are you sure? You mean you don't mind?"

"Well," I said, my voice raising an octave, "it would actually be kinda nice…I mean…my house is cold at night and blankets only do so much so…some extra body heat is always appreciated."

"Oh, I see how it is!" Itachi teased, "using me as your personal heating pad!"

"You know me too well," I rolled my eyes. We both crawled under the covers and laid there awkwardly on our backs.

"Okay, so this is kind of weird…" Ita said out loud.

"You want me to take the couch?" I asked.

"No, no, you're fine…just takes getting used to…" he said. I nodded, my memory flashing back to the last time we slept together. It was the night Sasuke was born and we had collapsed on the floor in my room and the next morning I woke up under the covers lying next to Itachi. Kushina even took a picture of us asleep and put it in a scrapbook she was starting. I wonder…

I hopped out of bed and ran to my closet, searching my way to the back where the box of Kushina and Minato's belongings rested. Itachi sat up, confused, "what is it?"

"I've got something to show you," I said, pulling the box out. I dug through it, looking to see if the scrapbook was still there. I reached towards the bottom and pulled out a yellow binder with purple ribbon decorated on top with the word "Family" embroidered into it. Aha!I crawled back into bed and snuggled close to Itachi, holding the book above our heads.

"What is this?" Ita asked, looking as I flipped through the first few pages of the scrapbook.

"It's a scrapbook Kushina had started with family pictures. She wanted to make a keepsake for Naruto and I that walked us through her wedding day all the way to ours," I explained as I flipped through their wedding photos and pictures of me when I first came home and Naruto's ultrasound picture. Finally I flipped to the last picture placed in the book before Kushina and Minato died. It was a picture of four-year-old versions of Itachi and I sleeping snuggled close together, our foreheads touching, my hand in his.

Itachi let out a surprised chuckled, "When was this taken?"

"On Sasuke's birthday," I said smiling, "After we fell asleep, Kushina found us on the floor and took a picture of us."

"Wow…that seems like so long ago," Ita breathed. I nodded in agreement and placed my head on his chest. Ita looked down at me and smiled, "you think we're still that cute right now?"

I laughed, "I'm sure Kushina's looking down on us right now laughing."

"Probably," Itachi agreed. We laid there for a while after we turned out the lights. Slowly, I drifted off into sleep, Itachi's soft beating heart rocking me into my dreams like a lullaby. This was so weird…but it felt so right. Eventually we both fell asleep, his chin touching the top of my head, and my hand in his.


	7. Chapter 6: Broken Love

**Ari**

So of course when she and her trio found out Ita and I were dating, all hell broke loose.

The best part about that entire fiasco was the day after that disastrous dinner, Ita asked me out on an "official" date. After countless back-to-back missions, the Hokage had granted both of us a two-week vacation, so neither of us really had anything to do, especially with our brothers in school. So we agreed to meet for lunch.

We walked down the streets of Konoha, hand in hand, and got just about everyone's attention from such a small gesture.

"Woaah! Couple coming through!" Shisui called out loudly as he passed us in the market. I spat out a laugh and Itachi blushed, glaring at Shisui. But our friend got between us, putting his arms around both our shoulders, "You know how the song goes Itachi, so when are we going to be expecting that baby carriage?"

"Shisui!" Ita yelled, his voice cracking. Shisui and I both let out a couple of laughs in response. In turn, Ita glared away, embarrassed, but I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and he loosened up.

"I'll leave you two lovebirds be, see ya around!" Shisui said as he left. It wasn't too long after that I heard the (unfortunately) familiar shrieks of the three most obnoxious girls in the entire village.

"Itaaaaaaaachiiiiii!" Izayoi sang loudly as she ran up to us, throwing her arms around him along with all her weight, causing Ita to lose his balance and fall backwards a little bit.

"Oof! Erm…hello…! Izayoi…" Ita said as he gave me a nervous and slightly apologetic glance. I narrowed my eyes and placed my hands on my hips. He shouldn't have been the one apologizing. The little bitch…okay, maybe I was jealous of her, so what?

"Itachi, you'll never guess what happened today!" Izayoi cheered, hanging all over him. Ita just played along, gently attempting to push her away but to no avail. That man could be too nice sometimes…if I were him I'd have chucked her all the way to Hokage Mountain.

"What, Izayoi?" Itachi asked, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her an arms-length away from him.

Behind him, Sari piped up grinning, "we were all asked to take the Chunin exams! Isn't that cool? And this is the first round of exams since we became genin. That must mean we're really talented, right?"

"Wow, girls!" Itachi complemented, "that's really great!"

"Pretty soon we'll be going on missions with you!" Amaya cheered, shooting me an evil glare, "and then you'll finally have some decent company!"

At that, I felt a nerve snap.

"Decent company…?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, "But I have—"

I went behind Ita and threw my arms around his neck and pressed my cheek to his as I stated, "Sorry girls, but I'm afraid manicured nails have no place in the ANBU Blac Ops. You have to be…a special kind of woman to go toe-to-toe with the big boys."

Izayoi shot me a glare, "Rat, get off of poor Itachi. He doesn't like being hung all over like that."

"Oh, like you weren't doing it a minute ago?" I retorted, "Seriously, Izayoi, have some pride."

"Well at least I don't smell," Izayoi sneered. My face flushed and I slowly slid off of Ita. She then got in my face and continued, "And besides, I'm afraid that you are way out of your league if you think you even have a chance with this eye-candy! You're nothing more than a messy, savage, freak of a street rat with no place in this world. If anything, you should do the world a favor and avoid any man, that way you won't screw up the gene pool."

I glared at Izayoi intensely but remained silent. That really hurt…I managed to gulp my tears down and just grimaced, frantically trying to think of a comeback that would get me out of this situation. But my guardian angel came down to save me as he tapped Izayoi on the shoulder to push her out of my face with one hand, and wrapped the other around my waist, pulling me close.

"Izayoi, that's not a very nice thing to say," Ita said sounding a little aggravated.

Izayoi's face flushed a deep red and she stammered, "I-I'm sorry, my dear, but I just can't stand to see this street rat here treating you poorly."

Itachi raised an eyebrow and pulled me closer to his side. I stared up at him with pure confusion, but Ita continued, "I think there must be a misunderstanding. This beautiful young lady is no rat. Let me introduce you, Izayoi. This is _my girlfriend_ Ariala Drake."

There was a long pause. The only thing you could hear was the sound of Izayoi's jaw falling to the ground.

"Y-your _what?_" Izayoi asked in disbelief, "I'm sorry, but did you say your _girlfriend_? She's not even your type!"

Itachi shrugged, "my type or not, Ari's still my girlfriend. And my best friend. So I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't call her by such mean names, okay?"

At a loss for words Izayoi let out a distraught groan and stomped away. Her two groupies followed closely behind, staring at me with big eyes. Ita and I continued forward, his arm still around my waist.

"Th-thanks, Ita," I mumbled in awe. Itachi sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry, Ari," he said, "all this time and I've just put up with their nonsense. I should've stood up for you a long time ago but I was too shy."

I rolled my eyes, "Nah, if you had done that when they were going at it behind my back, then I would have never gotten to see their faces!"

After that, not much had really changed between Ita and me. Both of us a little shy, we moved forward as a couple rather slowly. We hadn't even kissed since that day in the hospital. We would never get the chance to. But then again, there was so little time for us to get closer before everything came apart. And just as things were starting to work out for us, Ita pulled away from me. I knew he was trying to protect me for some reason, so I never held a grudge against that. I just wished I had pried around more and found out what was going to happen so I could be there for Itachi when he needed me.

Three nights in a row he came over for dinner. He would then run home briefly to tuck Sasuke into bed as I tucked in Naruto, and then a couple hours later, Itachi would return, and we'd stay up all night sitting on my bed, talking, watching movies, listening to music, holding hands, cuddling…

On the third night, however, it was storming outside. Ita said the Uchiha were sending him on a mission with Shisui so I wasn't expecting him that evening. Naruto came into the house soaked after training all afternoon. I dunked him into the bathtub and made him a hot bowl of soup to warm him up. But still, Naruto started sneezing and came down with a cold, so I put him to bed early.

I was in the living room reading when I heard a knock on the door. When I answered it, I was shocked to find a soaked Itachi decked out in his ANBU uniform, and he had taken his mask off.

"Ita?" I asked as I let him in, "I thought you said you were on a mission."

"I was," Ita said softly. He shivered violently as he stepped in so I ran upstairs to grab him a towel so he could dry off.

"Naruto's upstairs asleep," I explained, "he caught a cold and I don't want to wake him, so we'll have to keep quiet."

Itachi nodded as I rubbed his hair with the towel, messing it up on purpose. Normally Ita would push my hand away, laughing, but this time he remained still, unmoving. His glassy eyes stared down at the ground and he pressed his lips together tightly.

"Ita…?" I asked.

"Shisui's dead," he responded.

I froze, absolute shock taking hold of me.

"What?" I asked a little loudly, dropping the towel in my hand. I stared at Ita, motionless.

"The river…he jumped in…killing himself…" Ita tried to hold it together, "Ari, he's dead!"

No…no, no, no…this couldn't be happening…!

"H-he can't be…" I muttered. At that, Ita broke down, covering his face. I stiffly brought him up to my room and closed the door so Naruto wouldn't wake up, and the two of us sat on my bed, holding each other and crying.

"I tried to stop him…! I was too weak…I'm sorry…!" he sobbed as I stroked his hair, balling.

"It's not your fault…!" I wept. We remained there, holding each other and crying for an hour. After a while, we had finally calmed down enough to pull apart. I reached over and grabbed some tissue, blowing my nose and eyes. I offered some to Ita, but he turned me down, covering his mouth as he shook and breathed heavily, trying to regain his composure.

"Does Saya know yet…?" I asked, but Ita shook his head and closed his eyes tightly.

"No one does," he managed, "it just happened…"

"Oh my God…" I sighed heavily. There was more I wanted to ask him, but I didn't want to upset Itachi any more so I just left him be. "Well…have you had anything to eat yet? I have leftovers from dinner…and Naruto got grounded yesterday so there's plenty of cake left."

Itachi looked up at me and gave me a puzzled look, "you grounded Naruto?"

I rolled my eyes. "The only thing I can take away from him is food," I explained, "and he was caught trying to graffiti the Hokage's office."

Ita let out a soft chuckle and said, "my, my, aren't you a strict mother."

I shoved him lightly but smiled as I went to the kitchen. There, that was my Itachi shining through.

When I returned to my room, I had two pieces of cake and a heated up bowl of soup in my hands. Itachi gladly took the soup and shoveled it down, and then we dug into the cake together.

When we finished eating, Itachi was silent for a long time. I was too, but in the midst of the silence, I began to reach for the TV remote in hopes of getting our minds off the tragedy, but then Itachi finally spoke up.

"Ari?" he began, "can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Why did you decide to spare Naruto?"

I froze and stared at Itachi for a long time. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, pardon my rudeness but, if you killed him, you could free your father and reunite with him again," Itachi said, "I'm sure you know this, so what keeps you from doing so? And what keeps you from resenting Naruto?"

I sighed heavily. Somehow I knew he was going to ask me this eventually. "I'm not really sure," I admitted, "and I did resent him. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I finally went up and spoke to him. And, the night that I did…I was planning to kill him. But I couldn't…I don't know why, but I couldn't. Looking back, I know logically that if I were to free Dad, he would probably try to destroy the village like he did eight years ago, and I have too many ties here now to let that happen. But when I made that decision back then, the decision to protect Naruto…I can't tell you why I did. I just had a feeling."

Itachi nodded, "do you ever feel bad about not doing it? And to take Naruto in like you have? Don't you feel like you're putting yourself in a position that forces you to weigh the lives of two people you care about?"

"Why are you asking me this?" I responded sharply. Itachi turned away from me and sighed.

"I'm just trying to understand is all," he mumbled, "what you've gone through, that is…"

I narrowed my eyes at Ita. There was something he was keeping from me, but shrugging, I continued, "well…yeah. And it feels more like I'm weighing the life of my Dad over the entire village. It's so hard to decide on what's more important to you. My Dad is the man who helped give life to me. He raised me for as long as he could. But the village is where I grew up, and even though the village turned its back on my mom and resented my dad, it accepted me and took me in, and I just can't bring myself to let it fall to ruin. And then Naruto…even if Dad didn't go after the Leaf, Naruto would still be killed if he were freed, so it's like trying to decide who to kill, my father or my brother. There are times where I wonder if I made the right decision."

"Do you think you did?" Ita asked. I looked into his eyes; they were so full of concern and fear. He knew something that I didn't. I had a feeling there was a good reason behind Shisui's apparent suicide that Ita knew about. And I had a feeling that he wasn't just asking me these questions out of curiosity either. Ita asked again, "do you think it was the right decision? Choosing the village and your brother over your father?"

"As much as it hurts to give you an answer, yes," I said, "it's an impossible choice to make, but I think this just might be for the better."

Ita nodded and looked down, letting out a couple hums in response.

"You mind telling me what's wrong?" I asked.

"It's just everything that happened, is all…" Itachi answered quickly, "it's so hard to believe that this is actually happening."

"Yeah," I responded, understanding his pain. But I still had this nagging feeling… "Ita, is there something else going on that I should know about?" I asked, "I can't help but notice how distant your family has gotten lately. You and Sasuke are just about the only ones who leave the Uchiha clan's quarters nowadays, and with Shisui all the sudden…is there something going on in your family?"

"Hmph," Itachi responded, not answering me. I gulped hard. He would never admit it, but I knew that that was a yes. "Ari, can you promise me something?" Itachi asked, averting the question.

"Yeah, what?" I asked.

"Promise me…" Itachi turned to face me fully. He grasped hold of my hand and pulled it to his chest as he looked me in the eyes intently, "Just promise me that, no matter what happens you will just stay yourself and remember that I love you more than anything?"

"Ita…" I breathed, staring at the Uchiha in awe. I nodded feebly, "O-of course I will. And I will always love you, no matter what happens."

With that, Itachi leaned in close to me and gently pressed his lips against mine. This time, thankfully, I was ready and kissed him back. I put my hand on his cheek and we shared in a long, passionate kiss before we broke apart. Despite our sorrow and our pain, my heart fluttered in my chest with pure joy and I knew Shisui was smiling down on us as we shared our first real kiss.

And it was only a week after that when everything fell apart.

* * *

**Itachi**

"Do you accept this mission?" one of the village elders, Danzo asked. Itachi closed his eyes and grimaced. Danzo had asked, but he already knew the answer. Of course Itachi accepted the mission, what other choice did they have?

Itachi turned to leave, his mind set on finding one person.

On his way to meet him, Itachi was surprised and distraught to bump into Ari. The girl beamed when she saw him, making his heart sink.

"Hey there, handsome!" she greeted, running up to him, "What are you doing out so late?"

"Oh, just running some errands. The Hokage needs me for a mission," Itachi explained quickly. Ari raised her eyebrow.

"But we're still on vacation…" she thought out loud, "I thought the Hokage wasn't going to send us out until next week."

"Well, something came up that he needs a sharingan for," Itachi stated. Ari glared at him.

"Ita…you know you can tell me the truth, right?" Ari asked. Itachi grimaced. Ever since Shisui died, and probably even before, Ari had been suspecting that something was off. She wouldn't give him a break about it, and was constantly trying to get him to talk.

"I'm not lying!" Itachi swore. And really, he wasn't. He just wasn't telling the rest of the truth.

At that, Ari frowned and sighed, "Okay, if you say so…"

"What?" He asked, startled by Ari's sudden change in demeanor.

"You've been pushing away from me for the past week now," Ari said, "I understand you and your family have been going through a lot with Shisui, believe me, I know, I feel it too. And Saya's even worse right now, so I understand…but…we kissed that night and…you've hardly looked at me since."

"I'm sorry," Itachi apologized. He suddenly felt the weight of the world on his shoulders with everything that was about to unfold. If only it hadn't come to this…if only Ari could still love him after everything was said and done… "I've just had a lot going on right now. My whole family has been on edge. I don't mean to push you away."

Ari forced a smile and nodded, "I know. And it's unfair of me to feel this way; I know you have a lot going on. Just promise that you'll tell me the truth, no matter what, okay?"

Itachi nodded, "Okay." With that they shared an embrace and Ari gave him a quick kiss which he was too distracted to return. And with that, she left, and he went off to find Madara Uchiha.

"How did you know about me?" a masked Uchiha asked Itachi as he confronted the man.

"You were able to slip through Uchiha's defenses and even look at the stone in Nakano Shrine," he stated, "Only the Uchiha know that place. After that, I examined your actions and tried to understand who you are and what your goal is, Madara."

The man chuckled, "Well then this will be easy. You probably know that I hold a grudge towards the clan and the village."

Itachi narrowed his eyes and as he spoke, he knew he was passing a point of no return, "You must follow my conditions. I'll help you get revenge on the Uchiha, but you must not lay a hand on the village."

"Hmph," Madara groaned, "I guess I can't complain though. Is that all?"

"There is one other thing," Itachi said, "you must not lay a hand on Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

**Ari**

Because of this "covert task" Lord Hokage had asked of Itachi, I was sent on the mission the following Monday alone. I trudged my way home afterwards. I hated going on missions alone as it was…but to go without Itachi after all this time was like running outside naked. We weren't a tag team like Haru and Kokoro or Kinkaku and Ginkaku that depended on having both pieces to the puzzle to function, thankfully, and the Hokage intended to keep us that way and keep us able to function independently. I understood that…but to be missing my handy dandy sharingan and my level-headed diplomat at my side just seemed wrong.

But there was another thing with Itachi that had been bugging me for over a week.

He had pulled away from me completely, shutting himself inside his clan's walls with the rest of the Uchiha. I didn't get it. I didn't know why he closed himself out so suddenly. And right after our first kiss too. Shisui's death had taken a toll on everyone, especially Saya and Ita, but this was just getting ridiculous.

Saya and I had also been drifting apart as friends recently. She had even gotten rid of her old trampoline. I would have taken it, but I didn't have a backyard, and I couldn't go on it without my best friend. Doing anything without her was like going on missions without Ita. I just felt naked. She got even worse after her brother's funeral. I had spent the night at her house the night before, trying to console her, but the best friend I had known since I can remember was a completely different person.

"I hate this place," she spat repeatedly most of the night. "I hate all of them; they did this to my brother."

"Saya, what do you mean?" I asked, "I know it's hard right now. Trust me; I blamed the village for Kushina and Minato's death for years. I was bitter and I couldn't understand why something bad had to happen to people I was so close to, but this isn't anyone's fault. It's a tragedy, but you will get through this. I'll help you."

"Oh, please, Ari!" Saya scoffed back, "you couldn't possibly understand my pain. This isn't just some freak accident; this shit has been going on since the day Konoha was founded! My family has been hated and scorned by the higher ups for forever and my brother had to pay the ultimate price for it…"

"Saya," I scolded, "the village does not hate you. The Uchiha are a well-loved clan of the Leaf who have protected our walls since the beginning. Look, I don't know what's going on with you, but—"

"How could you? You're just a street rat without a family!" Saya snapped back at me. I froze and backed away from her.

"Saya…" I said, hurt. She glared at me and continued to beat me down.

"I don't know why I've put up with your antics for so long; you don't belong in this world, so how about you just leave me alone! The Uchiha have no need for someone like you!" she screamed. The situation escalated into a screaming match and I ended up going home crying. My invitation to Shisui's funeral was revoked and I couldn't even say goodbye to one of my closest friends. I never saw Saya again after that.

I made a stop for lunch in a nearby town before I finished my track home to Konoha, I figure I wouldn't be getting back until after dark, so I made a call home to Naruto and told him there was a coupon for Ichiraku's sitting on my kitchen table and he could get dinner there but he wasn't allowed to stay out too late. I knew he would though, being Naruto, but still I figured it was worth a shot.

I passed through a shopping plaza thinking hard about the argument with Saya. Thinking hard about Ita. What had gotten into those two? Saya was one thing, we both had a hot temper and she had just lost her brother, I figure that after a couple weeks we'd be back on speaking terms again.

But Ita…there wasn't anything he didn't tell me, so to be keeping secrets from me and pushing me away all the sudden was a terrifying thought. The biggest fear I had, I tried to keep out of my mind. What if he really did resent me for being the child of the Kyuubi? What if he told his parents? Fugaku and several other members of the clan would surely want me dead. After all, thanks to Madara the Uchiha detested my father probably even more than their former rival clan, the Senju.

I sighed, there was just no way Ita would do that. I knew him well enough and those three nights he spent over at my house I had seen a different side of Itachi Uchiha. It was an Itachi with all of his barriers down, left completely vulnerable. That was the most sincere I think anyone could have ever seen him and the Itachi that had been roaming the streets of Konoha the past few days was not the real Itachi. He was much more guarded than usual. Something was bothering him, I knew that much, I just wish he could open up to me.

I passed a shop window to a jewelry store when something caught my eye. I paused and turned to look into the window. What I saw was a necklace with several gold pendants circling the chain were bordered by a silver ring. As I looked more closely at the necklace, I realized that there were two chains. A shopkeeper stepped outside and noticed me admiring the necklace.

"Do you like it?" he asked, then explained "that's a one-of-kind that we just got in this morning. It's called the Bonded Necklace. It's a pair of friendship necklaces that you give to someone special to you. Theoretically, it was intended for you to give the silver piece to your friend to symbolize how they are your support, your shield, and you keep the gold to symbolize that you are their heart, and you fill them with your love. Together, the two pieces are complete, and though you may be separated for miles, you two will always come together in perfect harmony."

I eyed the necklace in awe. That necklace was perfect for Itachi. I turned to him and asked, "how much?"

I cleared my wallet when I bought the necklaces along with a pair of earrings and some chocolate for Saya, but I was pleased. Saya had just gotten her ears pierced and had had her eye on a pair of diamond hearts at the jewelry store in Konoha which she was saving money for, and these earrings were very similar and, in my opinion, even prettier so I figured she'd love them. The chocolates were for that extra push to get Saya to forgive and forget the whole fight. And the necklace…I was most excited about that. I had promised Itachi that I would love him no matter what and that I'd never forget how much he cared for me, and this necklace could become a tangible testament to that.

I put the gold necklace on and looked in the mirror in a bathroom just before setting out the rest of the way home. I wore a v-neck shirt and the gold sparkled against my collarbone. Regardless if Ita liked his silver necklace or not, I didn't think I was ever going to take mine off! I tucked Ita's necklace neatly into the box it came in. There was a poem that came with it which I thought was cute, so I left that in the box too. I trotted the rest of the way home. It was late at night when I finally arrived at Konoha's gates. I was really supposed to report to the Hokage immediately upon returning, but I figured it was best to make a stop at the Uchiha's quarters first.

Part of me wishes I hadn't.

The first odd thing I noticed when I walked through the miniature town that made up the Uchiha's neighborhood was that the streetlights weren't on. The moon rose high in the sky and everyone should have been in bed. But still…the lights always lit the street at night, and it was near impossible to navigate towards Saya's place.

But then I turned the corner. I pulled Saya's earrings and chocolate out of my pack as I neared her house, but when I looked up, I dropped both items and my knees began to buckle.

"What the…?" I breathed. Before me were at least a dozen corpses, blood spilling out of each of them. My stomach began to turn and my chest grew hollow as my breathing quickened. What was this?

"Saya…?" I called out nervously, passing the corpses quickly, but as I passed them, I was confronted with at least twenty more bodies. Itachi and Sasuke lived two streets over off of the main street in their neighborhood, if there were bodies over here…just how many…?

"Saya!" I screamed and broke out into a sprint the rest of the way to her house. People were hanging out of windows, by doorways, I gulped hard trying to push away what was possibly awaiting me. As I neared their front yard, I broke out into sobs when I saw Saya's mom lying in the grass, lifeless. The door to their house was open and I ran in. It looked as if no one was home.

No one living, anyway.

"Saya! Where are you?" I called out.

No answer.

I looked in the living room, the kitchen, the backyard. She was nowhere to be found. I looked up the stairs and took a deep breath, and treaded slowly up to her room. The door was closed. I knocked on it, but no one answered. The door was locked so I kicked it down and walked in.

And there she was.

Lying in her bed, her head hanging off of it just like she did when she listened to music, her eyes wide open, this was a normal position for Saya to be found in.

The only difference now was her eyes glazed over gazing lazily at the floor, her cheeks stained with tears, her gorgeous curly hair matted to her head and her entire body and sheets of her bed were covered with her own blood.

I dropped the earrings and the chocolates again, fell to my knees, and screamed.

"SAYA!" I cried, my hands gently grasping her head as I pulled it close. "SAYA! I'm sorry, I'm SO SORRY!"

This wasn't happening…this couldn't be happening…! Was Ita dead too?

"Oh GOD!" I sobbed. I wanted to see Ita again. I wanted to make sure that he and Sasuke were still alive. They at least had to be! They had to!

Sniffling, I looked back at my best friend for the last time as pushed her so her head rested on her bed and I closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Saya," I whimpered, then left her house and sprinted straight for Itachi's.

"ITA!" I screamed, banging on the door of their house, "Itachi! Mikoto! Fugaku-Sensei! Sasuke! SOMEONE ANSWER THE GOD DAMN DOOR!"

"You need something?" an all-to familiar voice asked from behind. I froze and turned to see Itachi decked out in his ANBU armor. His eyes gazed at me with a cold gaze I had never seen before. I sighed in relief and began to weep as I ran up to him, embracing him and cried, "Thank goodness you're alright!"

But as I held Itachi's stiff body, as he refused to wrap his arms around me, horror flashed in my mind and I pulled away, looking up at him.

"Ita…?" I asked.

He said nothing, only glaring at me with hard, cold eyes.

"Ita, say something!" I pleaded.

"You should get out of here if you know what's good for you, _demon_," he said in a monotonous voice. I backed away from him slightly and trembled. Demon…? Oh no…don't tell me that he…

"Itachi," I said in a low voice, "did you…?"

Itachi grasped the hilt of his katana as if he intended to strike me and I braced myself. I wasn't going to dare to fight back. But he paused and instead turned away. He turned back at me and said, "I'm sick of the Uchiha. It was time to put an end to their pitiful show. Now get out of here before I kill you too."

With that, he took off. I froze, staring at him. He spoke in that same monotone, but as he finished his sentence, his voice broke slightly, as if the real Itachi was pushing through the mask. In that moment, I knew this wasn't just Itachi being "sick of the Uchiha". There was something else going on. And I knew that it was that same something that caused Ita to distance himself from me, Shisui to kill himself, and Saya to break all ties with me as her friend.

Maybe the village really was after the Uchiha.

Or maybe it was the other way around and Itachi was ordered to stop them.

"WAIT!" I called after Itachi, taking off. He was already out of the village and into the forest which led out of the Land of Fire, but with my speed, it didn't take long for me to catch up to him. I hid my chakra signature and snuck up from behind, tackling Ita to the ground. We tumbled and struggled as we fell through the trees and to the ground, both of us taking a nasty blow.

"Get OFF OF ME!" Itachi grunted, "And stay the hell away from me!" Itachi pulled me off and leapt back to his feet.

I sat up on my knees and cried, "Why did you do it?"

Itachi froze and turned back at me, and in that horrifying monotone, he said, "I needed to test me limit. My visual prowess has grown far too powerful for me to remained confined to this clan, this village. The Uchiha were so arrogant, thinking of themselves as the best, when really so few of them were too afraid and too weak to bring their sharingan to the next level: the Mongekyo Sharingan. That's why I killed Shisui."

"You killed him…?" I asked, dumbfounded. I then narrowed my eyes, "Cut the bullshit, Itachi, you and I both know that that's not true."

"You think you know me," Itachi stated coolly, "you scorn everyone who judges you because you claim they know nothing about you, about your past, about your father, and yet you walk around thinking you can read everybody like an open book. But you miscalculated, you thought that I was a gentle man who loved you, but who in this world could love a half-breed street rat such as yourself?"

At that, the tears began to fall from my eyes. I never once thought Itachi would ever call me a half-breed or a street rat…and here he used both in the same sentence. "Y-you killed them all? Even Sasuke?" I asked, my anger boiling over. Was this really all him?

"Sasuke is still alive," Ita said quickly, sorrow pushing through his voice. I jumped at his mild change in tone. Ita then recovered his monotone and explained, "I need him to grow stronger and obtain the same eyes as I do, so one day I can take his eyes for myself and achieve a new power."

"That's a lie," I spat, "that's a filthy, upright lie, you bastard. You promised me that you would tell me the truth!"

Itachi turned away, "Hn."

"See? You're humming again!" I shouted, near hysterics. I desperately tried to cling to any shreds of my Ita to hold onto, to keep him by my side and away from this evil Itachi that stood before me.

"You are so pathetic," he said, "after everything I've done, you still try to hold onto me, thinking that there is a part of me that was the friend to you which I pretended to be? Why are you trying so hard?"

"Because I know that you weren't pretending!" I protested, "If anything, you're pretending now! You promised you would always tell me the truth! So why are you lying to me now?"

"I think its best that you go back to the village," Itachi said quietly, avoiding eye contact with me, "leave now before I have to kill you. Please."

I let out a choked sob, balling my hands into fists. I reached into my pack and grabbed hold of the box with his necklace. As I did, it began to rain.

"Fine then, leave for all I care!" I screamed at him, "and TAKE THIS!" I chucked the box at him as hard as I could. It bounced off his back and landed in the mud. Itachi turned around, stunned and bent over to pick up the box.

"What's this…?" he wondered aloud.

"It's a present for you," I explained, then gestured to the gold necklace round my neck, "it's supposed to go with the necklace I'm wearing. It was supposed to be a symbol of our friendship. I don't care what you do with it, but I have no use for it so you might as well just take it!"

Itachi opened the box and stared at me with wide eyes. He then closed it, turned back around, and leapt into the trees, leaving me forever. I stood there, staring at where he had once stood. I began to hyperventilate as I panicked, still sobbing. I grew so upset and distraught that through the tears, I fell to my knees and began vomiting. In the distance, I heard the shouting of shinobi.

"I think he went this way…!"

"Look! It's Ari! Is she down?"

"Ari," the Third Hokage's voice said. With nothing left in my stomach, I dry-heaved, but managed to look up at the Hokage with my pitiful, tear-stained face. The Hokage stared at me with sad eyes, the same ones he looked at me with when he restrained me the night my father attacked the village. He always seemed to be at my side when tragedy would strike.

"He's gone…" I whimpered, "he's really gone…!"

"Ariala, I am so sorry you had to witness this," the Hokage knelt down beside me. I covered my mouth and closed my eyes. My whole world was falling apart all over again. I broke out into even more uncontrollable sobs and screamed.

* * *

It was a month before the funerals finally finished. Things slowly began to return to normal. I was assigned missions either solo or with Kakashi if the mission was for ANBU, but I still felt empty without the other half of the Ultimate Tag Team, I still felt naked without my three best friends surrounding me.

I tried my best to mask my sorrow from Naruto, the little boy had no idea what had happened. Part of me wanted to keep it that way. His smile was the only thing that kept me going for a while.

Then on one particular evening, I was walking home from the grocery store. I had left Naruto home alone and had gone out to get some materials to make ramen. Master Ichiraku was on vacation and his shop had been closed all week, so I thought I'd treat Naruto to my recipe, which had become just as good as Ichiraku's, in my opinion. And I figured out how to sneak some veggies into it without Naruto noticing. As I passed the playground where I first met Naruto, I saw another lonely boy sitting out on the dock overlooking the lake. I stopped and watched this boy.

"Sasuke…" I said aloud. That poor little boy. As much as he and Naruto fought at dinner that one night, and as mean as he had been, Sasuke was still such a sweet sweet kid. And now here he was, suddenly alone in the world.

I set the groceries down by the swing and walked out to the dock.

"Sasuke?" I asked.

Sasuke stiffened and turned to glare at me. He had his brother's dark and gentle eyes, but now those eyes were filled with an indescribable amount of anguish and hatred.

"What do you want?" he asked. I sat down next to him, my feet dangling over the water.

"I haven't seen you in a while, how's school going?" I asked. Sasuke eyed me suspiciously.

"It's fine," he shrugged, "kind of boring, really."

I laughed, "that's what Ita always used to say…"

At that Sasuke shut me off and glared out to the lake, his body stiff as a board. Oooh…I really shouldn't have said that.

"Well, what I really came here for was to see how you were doing," I started, "I know how I felt when I lost my parents. It was pretty lonely."

"What's your point?" Sasuke barked, "They're all dead and that's that. There's nothing I can do about it but move on."

"My point is, Sasuke," I said, "that you don't have to feel as lonely as I did. You still have me, you know, and I can help you through this."

"Maybe I don't want your help," Sasuke stated, "maybe I don't want anyone's help. Maybe I just want to be left alone. Maybe I don't need anybody!" His voice started escalating until it cracked slightly. He heaved, his little shoulders trembling. I subconsciously placed my hand to my necklace, thinking of Ita. I missed him so much and desperately wished this were only a horrible nightmare or some kind of genjutsu. I couldn't even imagine what turmoil Sasuke must've been feeling.

Instinctively, I pulled Sasuke into a hug, allowing tears to fall from my eyes, "It's okay to miss them, you know. Your parents, even your brother. And it's okay to cry…"

At first Sasuke was silent, but he began shaking and broke out into sobs. I held him tightly and stroked his soft hair.

"I hate this…!" he cried, "I wish this never happened! I just want to go home!"

"I know, honey, I know," I whimpered, trying to stay strong for him, "it's hard, but for right now, you can come home with me."

Sasuke paused and pulled away, wiping his eyes. His lip quivered as he asked, "R-really?"

I nodded, "you can come over for dinner if you want and you can spend the night. Naruto is coming over too, so you two can play if you want to, but you don't have to. But you boys both need to get along, alright?"

Sasuke gave me a feeble smile and nodded, "Okay…that sounds kind of nice."

I wiped the tears from his eyes and kissed his forehead before taking his hand to lead him home. As we walked, Sasuke spoke up, "hey, Ari?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for beating up Naruto…" Sasuke said sadly, looking down, "I feel really bad about that…do you think he'll forgive me?"

I chuckled lightly to myself, "sweetheart, Naruto already has."

At that, Sasuke beamed. But sadly, that was the first and the last time since the massacre that I saw such a genuine smile on Sasuke Uchiha's face.


	8. Chapter 7: The Flower and the Necklace

Hey guys! Wooh! I've been on a roll lately! Just wanted to let you all know that I've really really appreciated the kind reviews and the story favorites! It really means a lot! And I'm glad you all like my story so far! So I hope you stay with me through this and continue to enjoy it!

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

There was one other thing that happened the night of our first kiss, and this particular moment filled my dreams for years after Ita left. The dream came every single night after the massacre, and it would sometimes be so real I would wake up and think Ita was still lying next to me. For the first year I had the dreams, I woke up to my own tears, mourning for what could have been, what should have been, but what never would be.

_We drifted in and out of a restless slumber that night, both traumatized from Shisui's death, neither of us could leave the other for too long. I eventually gave up on sleep for the majority of the night and went to go work on Kushina's scrapbook. _

_There were several pictures that I had taken over the years, and I wanted to fill up the scrapbook with pictures of our broken family, but very few of those photos I felt were memorable enough to go into the scrapbook. After all, there was only so much you could do with pictures of you and your kid brother when nothing that exciting happened in the two or three short years you had together. But when Ita told her what I was up to, Mikoto offered me several copies of photos she had taken since I was little. She had photos that dated all the way back to before even Sasuke was born, so between her pictures and mine, I was able to fill a good five or six pages to make up for lost time. _

_I sat on the bed cutting up pictures and gluing them to the pages of the book, Ita propped himself up on his side and observed as I let my creative juices flow. I began with a photo of me and Ita holding a baby Sasuke at the hospital. That went right next to the picture of us napping. I added photos of birthday parties and family events that I had been invited to (which were surprisingly a lot less formal than Thursday Night Dinner for some reason). One of my favorites out of those was a photo taken on the beach. Saya's parents had a beach house in the outskirts of the Land of Fire right on the coast, and would often spend the summer there. On this particular vacation, their family had invited Me, Itachi, Sasuke, and even Naruto to come along (Saya's parents were much more laid back than Ita's, and her mom adored Naruto…though Sasuke and Naruto didn't really have much to do with each other on that vacation). The picture showed Shisui, Saya, Ita, and I all wading in the water in our swimsuits, our arms wrapped around our waists. Naruto and Sasuke sat atop mine and Ita's shoulders' respectively. There were also pictures of Ita throwing me into the water, and there were some pictures that I had taken of me and Naruto sitting on the tire swing, with Naruto on my lap. _

_I had also taken photos of Naruto's first day at the academy. Despite Fugaku's orders, Ita and I departed for our famous mission late so we could see our brothers entrance ceremony. Naruto got to meet his teachers, and he took an instant liking to a Chunin named Iruka, so I took a picture of Naruto standing next to him, and then Iruka offered to take a picture of the two of us standing outside the academy together. Then I had several pictures of Saya and I at our gymnastics tournaments—most of which were really cool actions shots that I fit onto one page with a photo of her and I holding our team's second-place trophy from regionals together._

_And then there came my favorite picture: it was taken about a month before by yours truly when we had gotten home from a long mission. Ita was so exhausted from it that he dropped onto the couch before he had even managed to get his ANBU gear off. I had been lying on the floor next to him when Sasuke came home from school and was elated to find his big brother home, and ran up to sit on top of Ita to tell him all about the day. I ran home to change and make sure Naruto was home. Naruto had gotten his homework done early so he went to play with some kids on the playground. I ran back over to Itachi's to see if he had delivered the mission report yet, but ended up finding him sound asleep on the couch. Sasuke was laying on his stomach on top of Ita, his head resting on Ita's chest. Ita's hand rested on Sasuke's head. Lucky me had my camera in my weapon's pouch so I snapped a picture before taking the report over to the Hokage. _

_Ita glanced down at the photo of him and Sasuke as I glued it to the scrapbook._

"_Where did you get that?" he asked, dumbfounded. _

"_After one of our missions a month ago," I said, "you collapsed on the couch and Sasuke collapsed on top of you."_

_Ita's face flushed, "why are you putting that in your book?"_

"_Because it's freaking adorable," I said, "And besides, you and Sasuke are like family anyway. And he adores you, you know."_

_Itachi smiled at that, "Sasuke is such a sweet kid…I love him."_

"_I know you do," I said, "you know Ita, you're going to make a fantastic father someday."_

_At that Ita rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, a big smile on his face, "you think so?"_

_I nodded, "you're going to be wrapped around their little finger! So tell me, you're hoping for a little boy like Sasuke, aren't you? Or have you even thought about having a family."_

_Itachi chuckled, "I think about it all the time, actually. Though…I have to admit, as much fun as a boy would be, I really want to have a daughter."_

_I raised an eyebrow, "really?"_

_Itachi nodded, "yeah…I don't know, there's something about the thought of having a little girl that I really like. A gentle little girl with her mother's eyes and a kind heart."_

_I thought about that for a moment, "that really does sound nice…"_

"_A girl like you…"_

"_What?" I jumped at that, "Ita, I'm a wild animal, I don't think you'd want a daughter like me…"_

_Ita averted my gaze, his face still red as he mumbled, "well, if you were her mother, I'm afraid that would be kind of impossible to avoid…." But then he turned to me as if he hadn't said anything at all and said, "but you're a lot of fun. And you're really talented. I don't care how mischievous she is, as long as she is as full of as much kindness as you."_

"_Oh," I said, my face turning red, "So…what would we name her?"_

"_What?"_

"_Well, you said 'if I were her mother'…so, what would we name her?" I asked. _

_Itachi thought for a long moment, "well…I've always loved the name Hana…"_

_I smiled warmly, "you'll have a little flower, Ita…"_

_At that, Ita gave me a warm and genuine smile and said, "a beautiful wild flower. Just like her mother."_

As the dreams continued, I had begun to long for a little girl too. Someone I could teach how to dance and do gymnastics, who would hopefully be a lot more graceful than me. But the more I longed for a daughter, the more I'd wake up from my dreams crying, mourning for my little Hana who would never be. But years passed and I slowly began to accept the fact that Ita was gone and had possibly even moved on, or never loved me to begin with. I still wore my necklace though—I never took it off. Occasionally I'd look in the mirror and wonder if Ita wore his. After all, he had taken the gift with him that night. Whether he actually kept it or not, I didn't know. I tried to push the nightmare of the massacre out of my mind as much as possible, so I didn't bother mulling over that topic too much.

The first couple years after the massacre, Sasuke came over for dinner just about every night. Naruto grew more independent and started preferring sleeping in his own bed after dinner, so I'd walk both the boys home and Naruto would happily dance his way into his apartment and pack his school bag and get ready for bed without my help. But Sasuke would cling to my hand the entire way to his house and usually asked me to stay by his side until he fell asleep. I didn't mind at all. I loved both those boys, and I probably needed Sasuke's dependency on me to help me get over the fact that Naruto was growing up and didn't need me as much anymore. But Sasuke too grew out of that phase and eventually got used to living on his own and stopped coming over for dinner. He'd still ask to train with me though, which I didn't mind. Naruto didn't like training with me, even when he fell behind in school. He insisted on doing it himself, he wanted to prove that he could become a strong ninja just as I had through practice and dedication. He still came over for dinner…sometimes, but he could leave my house on his own now. Roughly four years had passed since Ita left, Sasuke and Naruto were growing up and on the verge of becoming fine shinobi, and I was so proud of them. But Ari suddenly started to feel incredibly lonely all over again.

Those little brats didn't even call to let me know they had graduated from the academy!

You know how I found out too? All the sudden, I stopped seeing Naruto completely, and he wasn't coming over for dinner. I went to his house after about a week to see if he was okay, and that little brat opened the door with his blue leaf-headband plastered on his forehead!

"Naruto!" I shouted, "what is on your head!"

"Oh yeah, I'm a ninja now," Naruto stated as-a-matter of fact.

"You WHAT?" I screeched, "Since when?"

"Graduation was last week," Naruto explained, "and Sakura, Sasuke, and I passed the last test and we're training with Kakashi-Sensei now."

And that was that.

No mention of his final exams.

No mention of his squad.

No mention of Kakashi (and how the hell did they pass Kakashi's test? He was the strictest teacher there was!)

No freaking phone call or visit or showing off his headband which he had worked so hard for!

My heart practically shattered.

I shot Naruto a nasty glare and crossed my arms, "so you mean to tell me…" I began, "that you graduated from the academy, passed Kakashi's test, and became a genin, WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ME? You haven't even come over for dinner!"

Naruto jumped and gave me a really snarly comeback, "Well it's not my fault! I've been busy training and catching up to Sasuke! I didn't have time to bother you with something unimportant!"

"Unimportant?" I growled, "Listen up, Narutard! In case you haven't noticed, I've been the one who has fed you and has paid _your_ taxes and for the clothes on _your_ back for years now! The least you can do is tell me when you've reached an extremely important milestone in your life so I can celebrate with you! Do you have any idea how bad I feel for missing your graduation?"

"What graduation?" Naruto barked back, "I didn't tell you about it because I thought I was going to fail! The test was on clone jutsu which I couldn't do, and so I did fail at first!"

"Are you serious?" I scoffed, "Dude! What happened then?"

"Well…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously, "after you went on that mission the other night, I snuck out and stole a forbidden scroll which taught me how to do the shadow clone jutsu…it turns out that I'm really good at that, so Iruka Sensei passed me and gave me his headband!"

"You…stole a forbidden scroll…from the Hokage's library…" my jaw dropped to the floor. Why didn't I hear about this either?

"But I learned the shadow clone jutsu! Wanna see?" Naruto asked. Without awaiting an answer, he weaved a few hand signs and suddenly I was standing in front of ten Narutos.

"Wow…" I mouthed, "that is impressive…" I then shook my head as his clones disappeared and continued to scold him, "but you stole from the Hokage!"

Naruto shrugged and pouted, "Well, it's not like it mattered…I was tricked into it by Mizuki sensei. He tried to kill me because I'm the NineTailed Fox…but Iruka protected me."

I fell on my ass.

WHAT?!

I had heard Mizuki was arrested, but THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED?

"NARUTO!" I screamed, "Why don't you tell me these things?"

Naruto's face paled and he looked away, "you hate me now don't you…because of what I am…I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd find out about me and hate me…"

"What?" I asked, standing back up, "Naruto, I would never _ever_ hate you." I placed my hand on his cheek and rubbed it lightly, his big blue eyes gaze up at me slightly confused.

"But I'm the NineTailed Fox…" he said.

I rolled my eyes, "Naruto, you aren't the NineTailed Fox. You have him sealed inside you. And besides, if I hated you for something that was out of your control, we would have never met."

"You mean you knew?" Naruto asked.

I nodded, "I was there when it happened, Naruto. My parents were killed on that night too. I didn't say anything because you didn't know and I didn't want you to be afraid of yourself and what people thought of you."

Sighing, Naruto said, "well…I'm going to get my picture taken with my team. You wanna come?"

I laughed, "of course! I need a good picture of you in your ninja gear to put in my scrapbook!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Oh, geez, Ari…not that again! And when will I get to see your scrapbook?"

"When it's finished," I answered curtly.

"And when will that be?"

I shrugged, "Who knows."

"ARI!"

"Hey! You didn't tell me anything about being a ninja and I missed a perfect photo opportunity of you and Iruka! This is pay-back!"

At that, Naruto groaned. Though we did eventually run into Iruka and had lunch at Ichiraku's with him where I was finally able to snap a photo of the two. As Naruto got his picture taken with the rest of Team 7, I stood behind the photographer and got my own picture.

"Ari, is this really necessary…?" Sasuke groaned when he saw me.

"Everything is necessary," I stated. Beside him, a pink-haired girl who was obviously infatuated with Sasuke glared at me.

"Sasuke-kun, who is this?" she asked.

Sasuke grimaced, "the Loser's older sister. She's a friend of the family and dated…my _brother_."

At that, Naruto started squealing, "She's not my sister! And I'm not a loser!"

The girl sighed in relief and then gave me a big smile as she introduced, "I'm Sakura Haruno! And Sasuke, I didn't know you had a brother!"

Sasuke grimaced. I was surprised he was able to introduce me like that. I was relieved though, Sasuke was finally showing some steps towards healing and getting off his revenge seat. If he could talk about Ita…if only through one brief statement about me, that was better than nothing.

Before the picture could be taken though, Naruto and Sasuke got in a grudge match and it was impossible to get a good picture of the two smiling. Kakashi placed his hands on both boys' heads and laughed as Sakura gave a cute smile. In the end, the two were glaring at each other, but it ended up as a good picture.

A few weeks later, Team 7 was sent out on an escort mission that blew up into chaos after a rogue ninja and former member of the Mist's legendary swordsmen attacked them. Kakashi had called in for backup once they reached the town where the bridge builder lived, out of fear that another attack was going to ensue. Strangely, he requested that only I came, saying that he wanted to give his team a chance to prove themselves as strong opponents in battle. I sighed as the Hokage handed me the briefing on my mission. Kakashi was a great ninja and after working with him for a number of years, I trusted his judgment. But this…this was a little questionable even for him. I had a feeling Naruto somehow got to the copy ninja.

I packed my medical kit—I had no idea what shape I was going to find those four in. I had been trained to be a medical ninja and was pretty good at it, however fighting was my preference, so I didn't bring more than a first-aid kit with me unless I felt my medical ninjutsu was going to be necessary. I also packed my camera because, as beat up as Naruto would probably be, even he would want some pictures to show off the accomplishment of completing a B- or A-ranked mission as a genin.

As this mission was S-ranked, I arrived in my ANBU gear, my twin-swords strapped to my back and my mask over my face. When I arrived to the coastal town, I was surprised to find that I had just missed the fight. It was snowing as I walked around, the town nearly deserted, but I discovered a big crowd gathered on a partially completed bridge. I watched as a fairly robust and nicely dressed man fell to his death in the sea. It was from a distance, but I recognized this man: Gato was listed in the Bingo Books as an S-ranked con artist who had left most of the Land of Mist in ruin and massive debt over recent years. I stood there observing the scene for at least an hour, trying to figure out what the situation was, but eventually the town all came down from the bridge in two single-filed lines. In between the two lines, I saw Kakashi's team carrying someone on a stretcher. Behind them were four other people carrying a second, smaller stretcher. Kakashi recognized me and motioned for Team 7 to quicken their pace.

"Did I miss out on all the fun?" I asked.

"Just barely," Kakashi said, "I didn't think they were going to send you in as an ANBU."

"When Zabuza's name was mentioned, the Hokage felt it best to list this mission as S-ranked," I explained. I glanced down at Zabuza's body. The stretcher behind him carried a boy about Naruto and Sasuke's age dressed in the Mists' ANBU uniform. "So what exactly happened?"

"In the end, Zabuza was a fine warrior and he saved this town of Gato's wrath. The boy Haku was one of his students…they both died as fine shinobi," Kakashi said, "we plan to give them a proper burial."

I nodded, "I see…so I guess it's good that I came in as an ANBU. You want me to lead the funeral services?"

"I think that would be great," Kakashi said.

One other job of the leaf's ANBU is to be present at the funerals of shinobi who were KIA. They lead the procession to the burial ground and light candles around the graves of the shinobi, and if they had one, they place the signature weapon of that shinobi on top of the grave as part of the ceremony and then later give it to the next of kin. If the body was not recovered, then the ceremony would occur at a special tomb and the ANBU are also tasked with engraving the name of that shinobi onto the stone.

The funeral was a nice ceremony, and Zabuza's sword was placed in the ground behind his grave. When everyone had left, Team 7 and I remained at the burial ground.

"Say, lady…" Naruto eyed me curiously, "why do you sound so familiar?"

"Naruto, are you some kind of idiot?" Sasuke retorted.

I laughed and lifted my mask so they could see my face and winked, "well, the funeral's over so I guess I don't need this anymore."

Naruto and Sakura both jumped when they saw me. Kakashi laughed and Sasuke scoffed arrogantly. We went back to the bridge builder, Tazuna's house to recover. All four of them were badly beaten, especially Sasuke, so I administered my medical ninjutsu as soon as we stepped in the door. We stayed another couple of days at the town while the group recovered. I was glad we stayed though, because the day we were set to leave was the grand opening of the Great Naruto Bridge, and we got to christen it.

"All right! This is so cool!" Naruto skipped around, eyeing the plaque with his name plastered on it, "Ari! Ari! You gotta get a picture of me!"

I reached into my medical pouch and pulled out my camera, "Lucky you, I forgot to take this out of my pack before I left!" I snapped several photos of Naruto posing in front of the bridge and by the plaque. I then motioned at the other three, "Alright, now everyone gets in! This is the day that Team 7 accomplished their first ever big mission!"

Sakura jumped right in next to Naruto as Kakashi and Sasuke followed close behind as I took several pictures. Sakura asked, "Hey, Ari, do you think you could print some copies for my mom? She's been wanting a photo of me with my friends as ninja."

"Of course!" I cheered. I then looked back, "Hey, Tazuna, you and your family get in the picture too! You guys were an important part of this mission."

Again, I took a few more pictures and then Kakashi spoke up, "Ari, you should get in the photo too."

"What? Me? No," I laughed, "I wasn't a part of this mission; I just came here for the clean-up is all!"

"Are you crazy?" Naruto shouted, "if it weren't for you I wouldn't even be here! I want a picture with you!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "He has a point, Ari…I awakened my Sharingan here and if it weren't for your help with chakra control then it wouldn't have happened.

"Come on, Ari!" Sakura pleaded. Tazuna stepped out of the picture with his daughter and offered to take the camera.

"You go in, Ari," he said, then called out to his grandson who had been glued to Naruto since the funeral, "Inari, you stay in and stand next to Naruto."

"Okay, Grandpa!" Inari responded then adjusted and jumped on Naruto's back. I walked in and took my place on the other side of Naruto, wrapping my arms around him in a fake choke-hold. Sakura stood on my other side and I placed my arms around her shoulders. She stood close to Sasuke who crossed his arms, and Kakashi stood on the other end with his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. It was a proud moment for Team 7, I could tell as I watched the three kids beam. Even Sasuke had a small smile on his face.

Okay, being there on that day made up for Naruto not telling me he was a ninja.

* * *

It wasn't long after that when Kakashi recommended all of Team 7 for the Chunin Exams. Sakura had taken a sudden liking to me and often came over in between missions. She reminded me a lot of Saya, but there were elements to her personality where I saw a little Ari in that pink-haired girl, especially on the day she came over asking about the Chunin exams.

"I just don't know about this…what if I can't keep up? Or what if something bad happens?" she asked, "I don't want to see Sasuke or Naruto get hurt…and I don't want to get in their way…"

"Sakura, you are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for," I explained, "it's incredibly rare that someone your age would have the chakra control that you do. And you have such a caring heart, so I understand why you would be scared of seeing your friends get hurt. But I think it's also for that reason that the Chunin exams will be good for you."

Sakura looked up at me, "what do you mean?"

"Well, I was a lot like you when I took the Chunin exams," I mused, "my teammates were incredibly reckless and a little cocky, and there were a lot of things that happened to them that could have been avoided if they had just thought things through. But parts of our struggles were my fault too. I was the protective one of the group and was too careful. I learned from the exams that I needed to let them go and trust in their decisions. They may not all be right, but there is a time to hold your friends on a leash to keep them from being stupid and there is a time to see where that stupidity will take them. What I'm trying to say is, Sakura, is that the Chunina exams will be incredibly difficult, and there will be parts of it that you might wish you hadn't experienced, but whether you pass or not, you will learn valuable lessons from these exams and grow stronger as a team. I think you'll be able to flourish from this experience."

"You really think so?" Sakura asked, a small smile growing on her face, "you really think I'm ready for this?"

"Of course I do!" I said, "Kakashi recommended you for it, didn't he? I've worked with that lazy bum in ANBU for years and I know he wouldn't put you guys in a situation that he didn't think you were ready for!"

At that, Sakura giggled, "Thanks! Say, do you think we could have dinner together tonight? I mean, you, me, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sure," I said, "if they're up for it and your parents are okay with it!"

So of course, my house was filled with twelve-year olds that night who were fighting and stuffing their faces and making a mess and having a blast just being kids. Kakashi showed up late (as always) but I managed to save him a plate. The three passed out in my living room early on in the evening. Sakura's parents a call and her dad came over to take her home. I then took Naruto up to the guest room and Sasuke up to my room to put them to bed. As they had to report to the exam area the next day, Kakashi told me when the two needed to be up by and then bid me goodnight and I made a bed out of my couch.

The next day Naruto and Sasuke were off to meet up with Sakura and go off to the Chunin exams. Because the exams were such a big deal and the five great nations usually put up a temporary peace treaty for the exams, I was off from missions, though I would be later called in to supervise the Preliminary Exam and the Final Exam which would take place at the stadium. But for now, I had the day to myself and decided to work some more on my scrapbook.

I had gotten behind and hadn't put anything in since before Naruto's graduation, so I ran over to the pharmacy to get photos printed and began filling my scrapbook.

Remember that dream I mentioned earlier? Well, the first part of its significance begins in this moment.

I had taken a break from my hobby, leaving the book on the table, to do some baking. Because I doubled as a medical ninja, I worked part time at the hospital when missions were slow. The patients at the hospital loved my pies, and I had signed up to bring some in over the weekend. I had the front window open to let a light breeze in, the hustle and bustle of the day singing into my kitchen.

And it was faint, almost completely disguised by Konoha's daily song, but my ears caught them as I turned back to the scrapbook while the oven preheated. A whistle so soft, it could have been mistaken for the wind, so soft, that normal human ears should not have caught it. And she came so suddenly, I'm still thankful for the reflexes gymnastics gave me as I spun around, kunai in hand, and blocked the two-tailed Bijuu Matatabi's swift attack.

"You've gotten strong, and quite beautiful, my dear niece," Auntie Tabi smiled, "you know, you actually inherited that speed of yours from me, I hope you realize."

"Auntie," I breathed, relaxing my battle stance, "what are you doing here? And I thought they had sealed you too."

Tabi frowned, "they did, sweetie. They sealed all of us. Which is why I'm a little confused as to why you've been raising your father's jinchuuriki all this time."

"It's complicated," I explained, "his parents took me in after Mom died but were killed when Dad broke through his previous jinchuuriki's seal…I just…I don't know…he's like a brother to me…"

"Don't worry, Ariala, you don't have to explain your actions to me. I understand completely," she said, taking a seat at my kitchen table, "humans have such a captivating way to them, don't they? Which explains why you fell in love with that Uchiha boy…what was his name, Weasel?"

I flushed, "Itachi…and how did you find out about that?"

"Itachi, Weasel, honey, it's the same thing…and I get around, you know," Matatabi explained.

I nodded, somehow, that didn't surprise me. But still confused, I asked, "Auntie Tabi, if you were sealed inside a jinchuuriki. How did you get here? Did you break through your seal somehow?"

At that, Auntie frowned and looked away, her violet eyes glistening, "Actually, dear…that's part of the reason why I came to see you."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"I didn't break through the seal…he let me go…" she explained sadly.

"What?" I asked, still confused.

"Toshio was his name," Tabi explained, "despite the scorn he received, he didn't mind having a monster such as myself sealed inside of him. He went to great lengths to try and become my friend…and it worked. Because he released the seal voluntarily, he survived my escape. And he reminded me a lot of your mother, Chinatsu. He had such a positive light to him…he was so sweet…"

"Auntie…where is Toshio then?" I asked. Tabi gave me a hard gaze as she grimaced.

"The Cloud didn't like the fact that Toshio had let his Bijuu free. And…his feelings for me were too strong…he died trying to make sure I wouldn't be sealed again," she explained. I knelt down and took Auntie Tabi's hands. I see how it was, she fell in love with this Toshio, just as my parents had.

"Auntie, I am so sorry," I whispered, "I'm sure Toshio was a great man, and if there is anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, sweetie," Tabi breathed, wiping her eyes before any tears could actually fall, "you are such a sweet girl. So full of kindness. You would have liked Toshio. But there is a favor I need to ask of you. One last thing that came out of losing Toshio."

"What, Auntie?" I asked, completely unprepared for what the two-tailed Matatabi was about to tell me.

"I'm pregnant," she stated.

I sat there, motionless, "What?"

"I'm four months along with a little girl," she continued, "and this child is all I have left of Toshio, but I have no idea how I'm going to raise her. I've been running from the Cloud for the past three months, and I fear that they won't stop until they've captured me and killed his child. Ari, it's so selfish of me to ask you this, but you are the only other person in this world who will know my daughter's pain. The pain of being a half-demon. Is there any way possible that you could take this girl in? I won't throw this burden on you immediately, I'll raise her for as long as I can, but if the Cloud catch wind of where I'm hiding, I need for her to be safe somewhere, and you're the only other family I have right now…"

I remained silent for a long time, I was completely stunned. I held Auntie Tabit's hands tightly as I stared into her dark purple eyes. I was completely unprepared to raise a child, but deep down I knew that this was my chance to be a mom. To have my little girl, regardless if she was my child by blood or not.

"Of course I will," I said. And then, Auntie broke into tears. It was the first time in my life that I had seen a bijuu cry.

"Thank you so much, dear," Auntie sobbed, "how will I ever repay you?"

"Just show your daughter the same love you have shown me," I said, "only without the constant sneaking up on me. That'll be my job."

Auntie let out a light laugh, "Alright, deal. Well, I guess I shall take my leave."

"Wait," I said, "don't you need a place to stay?"

Auntie shook her head, "no thank you, dear. I can't stay in one place for too long. I'll have this baby and raise her for as long as I can, so I don't know when I will bring her to you."

"That's fine," I said, "but what are you going to name her?"

Matatabi's eyes widened as she said, "I haven't even thought about it…I don't know. I'll let you pick something."

"Well if you don't mind," I began, a light blush dancing across my cheeks, "I'd like to name her Hana…"

Matatabi narrowed her eyes as she thought of the name, she then looked back at me and smiled, "it's perfect. Hana it is then."

As she left I couldn't help but feel a bittersweet feeling deep within my heart. I went up to my room and cried silently with tears of both happiness and loneliness.

He didn't know it yet, but Itachi would finally have his flower.

* * *

Of course, good things for jinchuuriki, bijuu, and half-demons can only come in short bursts. After the several months it took for the Chunin Exams to unfold, Naruto and Sasuke had made it past the preliminary rounds, but news of Orochimaru's return spread like wildfire among ANBU, and Sasuke was his next target. And the young Uchiha had been hospitalized for a week with the cursemark on the back of his neck as proof. It wasn't long before the Final Exam when I was called into the Hokage's office.

"I heard news about your aunt, Ariala," the Third Hokage said coolly as he inhaled a long breath of smoke from his pipe.

"Oh?" I said, "what do you mean by that?"

"The two-tails was recaptured by the cloud," he explained, "I don't supposed you know anything about that, do you?"

My face paled, "No…well, I heard she had broken through the seal of her last jinchuuriki but I didn't know she had been recaptured…"

Everyone in the higher ups of the Leaf—ANBU and government officials—knew that I was the child of the NineTails, but the Hokage also knew about my conversation with Auntie Tabi and agreed to help support Hana and me, but that piece of information was shared only between the two of us so we masked our words in case anyone was listening.

"Well, this occurred yesterday, and reports say that she was found with a newborn child," he explained, "they didn't say this, but I have a feeling that child was like you. Was it?"

I gulped hard and nodded my head. Oh no…but Tabi was supposed to get Hana to me if things got to dangerous so where did…?

The Hokage answered my thoughts for me, "out of fear that this was the case, the Cloud shinobi felt it best to kill the child after they sealed the two-tails."

Tears stung my eyes. Dammit…could I ever find peace? Would this world ever stop taking people I loved from me? Tabi had entrusted that little girl to me! She was supposed to be my daughter! They couldn't just…kill her! "Why are you telling me this?" I asked, my voice croaking.

The Hokage sighed and in a low voice said, "because you had the right to know. As painful as this news is, those two are still your family, and you deserve time to mourn for your lost child."

"I was supposed to raise her…" I choked out, "She was…she was supposed to be mine and Ita's flower…"

At that, the Hokage's eyes widened, "I-Itachi, you say…?"

I jumped and looked up at him before I sniffled, "it was just a childhood fantasy when we started dating. It's just a fantasy I've had that's helped me cope with his leaving. Nothing more."

At that, he relaxed, "Oh…so you haven't seen him at all since that night…"

I eyed the Hokage suspiciously, "now why would I? He's a criminal isn't he?"

"Ari, you're a smart girl," the Hokage spoke carefully, "surely you of all people know that there is more to Itachi Uchiha than meets the eye."

I didn't ask any further questions as other people were drawing near the office, but I wanted so badly to as the Hokage what he meant. Suddenly my suspicions of a secret plot against the Uchiha that expanded further than just a crazed young man thirsting for blood arose once more. Was there something that Itachi knew that provoked him to kill his family? Was it an order from the village? I would never get the chance to as the Third Hokage those questions, because, as I mentioned earlier, happiness for outcasts like myself can only come in short bursts. Tragedy struck Konoha during the week of the Final Exam. Orochimaru attacked the village and nearly crushed it with help from his following from a newly founded Sound Village, and he had assassinated the Kazekage and disguised himself to sneak into the exams without being noticed.

The Third Hokage managed to stop Orochimaru, and after much fighting, myself along with several other Jonin and ANBU stopped the assault of his followers, but not without severe damage. Uncle Shukaku was temporarily released from his jinchuuriki, Gaara, and wreaked havoc, drunk as ever. Naruto and his friends managed to stop him, but were badly injured. The village as a whole was left in ruins, and the Third Hokage lost his life upon Orochimaru's defeat, completing this tragedy.

More Funerals.

The entire village mourned the next couple of days. We mourned for our fallen friends and family, we mourned for precious parts of our life that had been destroyed, and we mourned for our beloved Hokage. However, we as a whole knew that the Third Hokage would not want us to dwell on tragedy, and many say that we all carry the Will of Fire deep within us, because the day after the funerals ended, Konoha was back to working hard on rebuilding life. One of the legendary Sanin Jiraiya had returned and had been training Naruto. Jiraiya had been a close friend that Ita, Shisui, and I studied under briefly and he would take us on missions when Fugaku couldn't. He was a pervert, but a respectable man nonetheless, and Naruto practically worshipped Master Jiraiya, thought he would never admit it. So even though we were temporarily without a Hokage, the village still felt fairly secure.

And then that's when he came back. And then, of course, my life seemed to spin even more out of control.

* * *

**Itachi**

They had wandered the village pretty much all day since they appeared. Itachi grimaced at the poor security that was stationed outside of Konoha. He didn't care if tragedy had struck, they needed more ANBU stationed outside the gates.

And that was exactly why Itachi Uchiha returned to Konoha, four years after he killed his clan.

As a member of the criminal organization, the Akatsuki, Itachi and his partner Kisame Hoshigaki were sent on a mission to Konoha to retrieve the NineTails' Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. But Itachi had other reasons for accepting the mission.

To attract just enough attention to get the Leaf Shinobi back on their toes and protecting Konoha as they should, and to remind Danzo of the deal they had made after his mission to destroy the Uchiha clan. Just because the Third Hokage was gone didn't mean Danzo could take out Sasuke as if he were some kind of threat.

So when the jonin Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi stepped before them, Itachi was almost relieved. But he felt guilty because he knew he would have to kill them if the fight went on too long. But then Kakashi Hatake appeared just as the two were struggling against Itachi and Kisame to help take the reins of the fight.

But Kakashi's sharingan was no match for Itachi Uchiha's Mongekyo, and it didn't take much effort for Itachi to pull him into Tsukuyomi. In a matter of seconds, Kakashi collapsed to the ground in pain.

"Kakashi, what happened?" Asuma asked, he and Kurenai were both ordered to keep their eyes closed to avoid Itachi's gaze, "one second you tell us to close your eyes and the next you're on the ground!"

Itachi sighed, it looked like was going to have to kill all three of them.

"Well, you three look like shit, did I miss all the fun?" a cheery, bell-like voice asked from above, catching everybody off guard. Kisame and Itachi both jumped and looked up. Sitting on top of Kisame's Samehada of all things was Ariala Uzumaki, better known as Ariala Drake, Ari for short. The demon of the Leaf as she became known. One half of the ultimate tag team. It had been four years since Itachi had seen her, and there she was, sitting on top of the wide blade of Kisame's sword, looking back and forth from the two Akatsuki to the three Leaf Shinobi.

"Well it's about time, you showed up, Ari! Where the hell were you?" Asuma barked.

"Watching the fight," Ari stated nonchalantly.

"This whole time? And you didn't think to come and help us!" Asuma shouted back, his temper boiling over.

Ari threw her hands up, her ice blue eyes wide with innocent confusion, "I thought you could handle it!"

At that, Asuma groaned, but remained still, "well, close your eyes, Ari! Itachi's Sharingan is powerful, you don't stand a chance! Kakashi took one look at Itachi with his Sharingan and collapsed to the ground!"

At that Ari and Itachi exchanged glances. She looked right into his eyes, despite Asuma's warning, and gave him an angry smirk. Itachi tried to keep his heart from beating too hard. Typically a smirk like that meant Ari was in a fairly sarcastic mood, and, when he was on the receiving end of that mood, Itachi could never see the light of day with her.

And the way her nose crinkled when she gave that smirk and the goofy pranks she'd pull were the cutest parts of that mood that Itachi still loved.

Ari leapt off of Samehada and stood in front of the three, Ari scoffed at her comrade, "Asuma, you forget that I spent several years on a team with Itachi. I know him like the back of my hand."

"But he's one half of the Ultimate Tag Team!" Asuma shouted back. Ari rolled her eyes in response.

"Do you have short term memory loss or something?" she snapped back.

Kisame let out a chuckle and grinned, "my, you are a tiny thing, aren't you? I didn't' even notice the weight change when you were sitting on my blade."

Ari narrowed her eyes, "I'm an average height, thank you. I'm not that short. You're just gigantic."

Kisame laughed back and Itachi suppressed a light chuckle. Even with two criminals in front of her, Ari was still capable of cracking jokes.

"You're quite the feisty one, aren't you? Itachi has told me a lot about you, Ariala Drake. Though it's hard to believe that such a cute little thing as yourself could carry a name like 'The Demon of the Leaf'."

"Don't underestimate her, Kisame," Itachi warned, "she may have a small stature, but she is stronger than even you."

"Yeah, yeah," Kisame retorted and lowered himself, ready to fight. Itachi grimaced. Going up against Ari was _not_ a good idea…they were starting to catch a little _too_ much attention now.

"Ari, stand down. It's a bad idea to take the two of them on, I don't care if you do know how to fight against Itachi's sharingan! We need to call back-up!" Asume ordered. Ari brushed the man off and took a step forward.

"I'm afraid back-up is an even worse idea, Asuma. And let's not forget which one of us is in ANBU," Ari narrowed her eyes and Asuma jumped, grimacing, "I'm the only one who could even think to take these two on right now, too little is known about the way they fight as a duo and dragging anyone else in this mess is a suicide mission."

"But Ari! Itachi was part of the Ultimate Tag Team! He was an ANBU captain when he was 14! He alone will kill you! We need to retreat!" Asuma pleaded.

"And then what?" Ari barked back, "let them run around the village! Besides, you're forgetting who I am, here! It's as Kisame said, I'm the Demon of the Leaf. And also, the other half of the Ultimate Tag Team…"

Kisame lunged at Ari swinging his sword. Ari easily maneuvered past him and sent a force from her palm that blew Kisame back and directed him away from the three Leaf Ninja. Kisame grunted and swung at her again, this time Ari blocked his sword with her bare hands, pushing back against the blade as she finished, "…IS ME!"

* * *

**Ari**

I danced with Fish-Sticks in the river for a few minutes, dodging his attacks and trying to tire him out. But he just kept coming. Kisame Hoshigaki was a bottomless pit of chakra. Thankfully, due to my heritage, so was I, and I had no problem keeping up. I weaved several hand signs and sent out several chakra chains from my body, and leaping into the air, I spun around and flung them at Kisame, striking him. The chains wrapped around him and pulled him up towards me, I made another hand sign causing the chains to turn into light whips and they burned his skin, causing the whips to explode, dropping Fish-Sticks to the water.

Kisame grimaced as he crouched down, glaring at me, holding his burnt arm. I landed a few feet in front of him, smirking wildly.

"You still think I'm cute?" I asked sarcastically.

Fish-sticks spat out a laugh, "you're good! I'd like to see what you and Itachi can do together…but too bad you guys aren't on the same team anymore."

"Kisame," Ita broke into the conversation, "let me handle this."

Fish-Sticks shrugged, "suit yourself."

Ponytail took a step towards me and I lowered myself. I had dabbled into the art of Genjutsu, but my abilities were nowhere near the level of his visual prowess, and Itachi also knew that I could easily break through any genjutsu, and even an attack like his Tsukuyomi would hardly have any effect on me. Plus, neither of us seemed to want to attract attention. Itachi didn't look like he wanted to get caught in the middle of hundreds of angry Leaf Shinobi, and I didn't want any unnecessary casualties by people rushing towards the sounds of explosions…so ninjutsu was out of the question. Which meant this battle would be one of my favorite kinds: a battle of taijutsu.

We were both incredibly fast and strong, but while my strength and speed to trump his, his sharingan could read my movements quickly to avoid my attacks. We danced around each other, striking each other and blocking each other's attacks. I was so used to Ita's moves that this felt more like training than an actual battle. As we slid and dodged each other, we would pull up massive amounts of water and after a while, the water we brought up began raining down on us as if it came from the sky.

"You've gotten stronger since I last saw you," Itachi noted.

I glared at him, "so have you. But this is no time for small talk, Weasel!"

"Weasel? That's a new one…" Itachi stated, raising an eyebrow. He gazed at me with those same expressionless, cold eyes that he did the night he left. I bared my teeth at him and let out a growl that sounded more like an animal than a pissed off human. I kicked Itachi in the stomach and reached out to grasp the collar of his cloak, but he pulled away from me and I grabbed onto a chain around his neck, pulling it off of him and fell backwards, letting go of the chain.

I sat up and looked over at Itachi, who crouched down. His hand jerked up to his collar-bone and his cold eyes turned to a wild panic as he looked around. I suddenly grew really confused. That was Ita I was staring at now, it was no longer an Akatsuki member with cold eyes.

"Where…?" he asked quietly to himself. Just as he did, the chain I had grabbed onto but let go fell back into the water and began to sink. Itachi quickly ran to it and reached into the water, pulling a necklace out and returned it to its place around his neck before anyone else could notice. Itachi sighed in relief and subconsciously clasped onto the necklace resting on his collarbone.

My eyes widened as I sat up, placing my hand on top of my own necklace.

He was wearing the silver necklace I gave him.

I still had my Ita afterall…


	9. Chapter 8: Reunion

Hello again! So because I'm sleep-deprived and I'm having a very loopy sense of humor, let's play a drinking game! (and yes I was watching old episodes and specials of Yugioh Abridged...particularly the Christmas party where Marik and Bakura keep trying to play drinking games but with no success)..so every time Ari uses the word "shit" in dialogue or narration, we take a drink! Looks like it's going to be a party tonight! (and no, I'm not 21, and no, I do not support underaged drinking in anyway. That's just stupid.) Oh, and fair warning, things get a little steamy in this chapter, but its nothing too inappropriate! I promise! But if you can't handle people sitting around in their underwear then skip part of the ending of this chapter! Just saying! I rated the story T for a reason! ;) (Wooh, I am tired! Just ignore me now and ENJOI!)

* * *

**Kisame**

They trailed Naruto and Jiraiya for hours as the two made it to a hotel. Kisame was just about ready to take them both out, but Itachi was still refusing contact.

"No, Kisame, Jiraiya is one of the legendary Sannin. Taking him on even alone would be a suicide mission. We have to take this carefully," Itachi explained. Kisame eyed his partner carefully. Itachi had seemed a little off ever since they left Konoha.

"Ugh, alright fine…say, this doesn't have anything to do with you being sentimental over returning to your village, has it?" Kisame asked, slightly annoyed.

"I could care less what happens to that village," Itachi stated quickly, "right now our only objective is to obtain Naruto in our custody."

"I still say we could chop off his legs when he was asleep and be done with it…" Kisame muttered.

"Kisame. _No._" Itachi ordered, his anger flaring. This was unusual. Usually Itachi was the calm and collected one of the two.

"Oh, come on, Itachi! You don't need to get your panties in a wad over seeing your old girlfriend!" Kisame groaned. Kisame was only half-joking with that statement. The reports did say that Ariala Drake had been a caretaker for this Uzumaki kid. And Itachi did seem visibly startled upon seeing his old teammate.

And interestingly enough, Itachi said nothing and turned away at Kisame's comment.

Kisame raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so that's that this is? Ha! I never had you pegged as the romantic type!"

"Hn," Itachi grunted angrily. Kisame let out a billowing laughter.

"So you have feelings after all!"

"Shut it, Kisame."

"Ooh, touchy subject I take it?" the blue Akatsuki threw his hands in the air as if he were surrendering, but he prodded Itachi a little further, "I take it the break up wasn't too pretty after she found out what you did, was it…"

Itachi let out a really angry "Agh!" and stood to leave for the town Naruto and Jiraiya had stopped in. Kisame pursed his lips and sighed. Looks like he hit a raw nerve there…Kisame had a feeling that he'd pay for it later if he didn't apologize.

"Look, Itachi, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I was only joking…" Kisame offered.

Itachi turned back to him and spoke softly, "she never broke up with me, Kisame. That's the problem…"

* * *

**Ari**

Kakashi looked like shit.

And I don't mean, you-just-got-your-ass-kicked shit, I mean he looked so bad I wasn't sure we wanted to take his mask off or we'd see foam pouring out of his mouth type of shit. I had given Kakashi a look-over and decided that he was in a stable condition but we still brought him over to the hospital. Gai was still throwing a mild tantrum over the fact that he could have taken Fish-Sticks down, and Asuma, Kurenai, and I were all trying to get him to shut up. This incident needed to stay on the down-low. We couldn't have too many people finding out about this, the village was in chaos enough as it was.

And if Sasuke found out…

I shuttered at the thought. Sasuke was finally getting back to being a normal kid, living a happy life…if even the thought of Itachi Uchiha began to stir in his mind, there was no telling what would happen. And Orochimaru had already placed the Curse Mark on Sasuke. The seed was planted. All it needed now was water, and it was our job to make sure that the seed dried out and died before it could taint Sasuke.

"What happened to Kakashi?" Sasuke asked as he stepped in the room. I sighed heavily. Speak of the Devil…

"Food Poisoning," I lied, "what did you two eat at lunch today?"

Sasuke turned his nose up, "well, I warned him that the pork didn't look so appetizing…"

I held in a laugh. Phew! Was I lucky on that one!

And of course, as I thought to myself, my luck ran out when some moronic goggle-faced idiot came running in screaming, "Is it true? Is Itachi Uchiha back in the village? Is he really coming after Naruto?" before realizing that Sasuke was standing not two feet from him.

"Idiot…" Kurenai spat.

Us four Jonin all held our breaths and stared at Sasuke who shot me a nasty glare. I cringed as I muttered, "So….maybe it wasn't food poisoning…."

Sasuke's glared down at the ground, his anger visibly boiling over and I could feel his aura change. Here it comes…

3..

2..

1…

Well, he didn't break out in to deafening, incoherent screams, but Sasuke bolted out of the room faster than I could respond. I shot Sunglasses still standing by the door a nasty glare.

"Why don't you just tell the whole village while you're at it!" I snarled sarcastically as I ran out the door after Sasuke.

Behind me I heard the idiot shout, "good idea!" before Kurenai slapped him and yelled, "she was being sarcastic, moron! What part of 'top-secret information' do you not understand?"

I had lost Sasuke once I stepped outside the hospital. Itachi and Kisame were after Naruto (though I had a distinct feeling that Naruto really wasn't in any danger, what with Itachi's whole episode over his necklace and everything), I figured Sasuke would be leaving the village to find Naruto and Jiraiya. I sprinted in the direction of the closest down and I found Sasuke just at the outskirts of it.

"Sasuke! Stop!" I ordered. He stopped to turn back at me but kept running, trying to maintain a good distance from me. He ran in the opposite direction of the hotel district of the town—he obviously didn't know where he was going—and I got close enough and tackled him. But as I did, I realized it wasn't Sasuke I was following. I grabbed hold of its waist and Sasuke dissipated into a log as I collapsed to the ground. "That little shit!" I cursed out loud. Sasuke must've done a substitution jutsu before I caught up with him…which meant he was already scanning the hotels looking for Itachi.

Shit!

* * *

**Naruto**

It was just like that Pervy-Sage to leave him all by himself! And of all times too! He stared up at the two strangely dressed men in awe. The shorter one looked just like Sasuke and even had the Sharingan…what did that mean?

Wait a minute…Naruto had seen that man before…

"Ponytail Guy…" Naruto mouthed, recognizing the man who used to come over for dinner with Ari and Naruto. He and Ari were supposed to be famous for their tag-teaming, weren't they…?

"Naruto, you're coming with us," Ponytail Guy stated in a silky-smooth voice. Naruto stepped out of the hotel room still in shock and incredibly confused.

"Say, this brat looks like he's going to give us trouble, I still say we chop off his legs," the blue guy groaned. Ponytail didn't say anything, so the blue guy took a step forward, grabbing hold of his massive sword.

Uh-oh! Naruto stood there motionless for a moment, with no idea what to do. But as Ponytail spoke up, Naruto was given a few more precious seconds.

* * *

**Sasuke**

He ran in just as a blue man was aiming to attack the Loser.

But that bastard caught on to Sasuke's presence.

"It's been a long time, Sasuke," he stated.

"Itachi…Uchiha…" Sasuke spat. He had never before felt such an insurmountable hatred welling up inside him. This was it. He was going to destroy Itachi.

In front of him, Naruto jumped and took a step back. "Itachi…Uchiha…?" Naruto repeated, his eyes wide with terror.

The blue man turned back at Sasuke, a menacing grin on his face. "Well, the sharingan…and he looks an awful lot like you. Itachi, who is this kid?"

Without turning to face him, Itachi explained in a monotonous voice, "he's my younger brother."

"That's strange because I heard the whole Uchiha clan was wiped out…" Kisame thought out loud. Sasuke glanced over at Naruto who's jaw was practically on the floor. Then Kisame added, "…by you."

"Itachi Uchiha," Sasuke spat, lowering himself and ready to strike. He began to build up chakra to create a Chidori, "I hope you're ready to die. It's just as you said brother, I've fostered my hatred for you all this time! I've live my life for one single purpose." As the chakra concentrated in his hand and began to spew lightning, Sasuke screamed out, "TO SEE YOU DIE! It ends here!"

Naruto called out to Sasuke, but he paid no attention, his thoughts focused solely on the man before him. Sasuke threw his hand to the side, now heavy with chakra, and made a mad sprint towards his elder brother. This was it, Itachi was going to die!

Before he knew what happened, Itachi had brushed the Chidori aside like it was nothing. Suddenly, Sasuke was standing before Itachi, his wrist firmly in his brother's grasp. Itachi bent his wrist downward with an incredible amount of force. Sasuke let out a grunt of pain. He tried to pull away from Itachi but to no avail.

Naruto in response began to build up a massive amount of chakra, but the blue man cut the chakra to pieces like it was nothing. Sasuke couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The blue man sneered, "Sorry, kid. My blade Sharkskin cuts through chakra and devours it…we don't need this kid making a hassle whipping out any more jutsu. Forget the legs, maybe I ought to start out with those arms of his."

The blue man positioned his sword in front of Naruto, ready to cut him down. Sasuke attempted to wriggle his way out of Itachi's grasp but couldn't and Naruto just stood there like a complete idiot as always. Dammit…Sasuke was wrong, it wasn't Itachi that was going to die…!

But just as he went to chop Naruto to pieces, a gigantic frog appeared and blocked the sword. Behind him, a white-haired man stepped forward carrying a young woman on his shoulder.

"You two don't know me at all, do you?" the man said, "Should've done your homework! Jiraiya the Toad Sage falls victim to no woman's charm! Rare beauties fall for me! Like blossoms in a storm…it isn't in my nature to be dooped by the whiles of women!"

Sasuke stared at the old man, confused. Really? A toad sage? _This_ was the really strong legend guy Naruto had been blabbing about for the past week? Geez, he really was a loser…

But it was then when his wrist snapped, and Sasuke crumpled to the floor.

* * *

**Ari**

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT! Where in the hell were they? I sprinted across town looking in every hotel asking if there was a guest who checked in as Jiraiya. And of course, I didn't even find the place until Sasuke's Chidori came exploding through the third floor of the one hotel I didn't check! SHIT! Have I said 'shit' enough yet to convey how pissed off I was?

I sprinted into the inn and up the stairs. God dammit! This was bad! And that was a severe understatement! I ran down the hall towards where I had heard the explosion. I paused long enough to see Itachi and Sasuke standing at the opposite end of the hall, and he had Sasuke pinned to the wall. I panted, observing the situation for a brief moment. Naruto was standing beside Jiraiya completely dumbfounded. But why wasn't Jiraiya doing anything? Fish-Sticks stood in front of the two allowing Itachi and Sasuke some "bonding time" if you could even call it that. Kisame looked up and saw me. He grasped the hilt of his sword and grinned.

"Well, if it isn't the little acrobat from earlier," he stated, "sorry, but your _boyfriend_ is busy right now. Please take a message."

I jumped at that remark and then lowered my stance. I let out a growl…so he was going to hit me in _that_ sore spot, was he? Asshole.

I bolted forward at top speed and Kisame attempted to take a strike at me. I leapt into the air and landed on his head, kicking him forward as I pushed off him, making my way for Itachi.

"I don't have time for you, Fish-Sticks!" I barked.

"Fish-Sticks…? Why you!" Kisame shouted back and swung his sword at me. He didn't attempt to cut me down, only through me off my feet so he could take me on. I slammed into the wall and fell to the ground. I then pushed off my hands as Fish-Sticks lunged towards me and kicked him in the face. I then leapt into the air and did a back-flip, landing on my feet behind him before I struck him hard in the pressure point in his neck with the side of my hand. Kisame fell forward and coughed. He glanced back at me with wild eyes, trying to summon ninjutsu but failed. "What the hell did you do to me…?"

"Blocked your chakra network," I snapped back at him, then punched him hard in the side of the head before I made my way towards Itachi. Kisame stood back up and attempted to follow me, but he was out for a good ten minutes at least.

I leapt into the air, bouncing off the ceiling as I came crashing down on Itachi, breaking him apart from Sasuke. Sasuke slunk to the ground unconscious and I sparred with Itachi for a brief few seconds, but I had finally tired out and he easily overwhelmed me, shoving me off my feet and grabbing Sasuke by the neck, holding him back up. He pulled out a kunai and held it to Sasuke's throat.

"One more move and I kill him," he said swiftly.

I sat up and glared at Itachi, spitting out some blood, "are you really going to do that Itachi? Can you really kill your precious little brother?"

"Hmph," Itachi looked away from me, his eyes fixated on Sasuke. I smiled to myself. Filthy liar was just bluffing. My Ita was still there.

Naruto finally grew beside himself and took off running towards us, "Sasuke!"

At that moment, Kisame had recovered enough to chase after Naruto. I grimaced. Oh crap…

But Jiraiya, being the life saver who only comes in at the perfect moments in time weaved hand signs and pressed his hands to the ground. Suddenly, we were surrounded by the intestinal wall of a toad.

Ugh…this was gross…

Naruto looked around confused and asked what everyone was thinking, "What the…? What's going on?"

Jiraiya grinned and stated, "Ninja Art: Toad Mouth Trap." Yes Jiraiya, thank you. That explains everything. I looked over as the flesh grasped hold of Sasuke and pulled him into the wall, forcing Ita to let go. The flesh then began to grow around Itachi's and Kisame's feet, trapping them.

"You've both just been swallowed by the mountain toad. Welcome, my friends, to the belly of the beast!" Jiraiya said, "He has a very sensitive digestive track, be careful not to upset him. Not the most glorious way to die, is it? It must be humbling to know that you've been reduced to toad bait!"

I cringed. Still gross. I went over and stood close to Naruto, placing my hand on his shoulder. Itachi looked over at his teammate and ordered, "Kisame. Come."

Fish-sticks staggered forward with a little trouble breaking free from the flesh. "Easier said than done," he spat back, pulling his Sharkskin free. The two took off down the hall of what was the hotel.

"It's useless!" Jiraiya called back to them, "a ninja hasn't been born that can survive this powerful stomach!"

I crossed my arms skeptically…the last time I heard someone say that to either me or Itachi it was Haru of the Venom telling me that no one had ever survived his poison. And look where we were now. So of course, Itachi took off with Kisame. Jiraiya sent a wave of flesh forward chasing after the two. I held my breath. Oh no…was Ita really about to die? Criminal or not he was still my teammate. And…I never actually broke up with him and I hadn't been out with a guy since so technically he still kind of sort of was my boyfriend…..

A few moments later we heard an explosion. Jiraiya leapt to his feet and ran towards the sound. Naruto and I followed closely behind. To our amazement, there was a hole at the end of the hall which led outside. On the edges of the hole and the flesh were small black flames. Jiraiya and Naruto both walked up to those flames, but I stayed back.

What were those? I had heard about secret techniques being unlocked from the Mongekyo Sharingan like Shisui's Koto Amatsukami and Itachi's Tsukuyomi…was this part of Ita's arsenal with those eyes? While Jiraiya and Naruto got preoccupied with what happened and how the two Akatsuki members escaped, I slunk away. I had more important questions that needed to be answered.

Questions that only Ita could answer.

* * *

**Itachi**

As they ran, Itachi could feel his body growing more and more fatigued. Having to use the Tsukuyomi was one thing. But using it twice? Itachi had never needed to do that before, and then he had to use Amaterasu as well. As a result his vision had blurred significantly. He hoped it was one of those temporary ordeals from exhaustion and not the Mongekyo being in a hurry to seal itself away. And of course, on top of everything he had to fight Ari.

Ari….she was as beautiful as ever. She must've hit a late growth spurt because she was a lot taller than when they last met. Too tall to be a gymnast now, but she was still a really petite girl. And she was strong.

But what surprised Ita most of all was the fact that she was still wearing that gold necklace which went with his.

They stopped at the next closest town that was out of the way from a path a possible search party would take. They took a breather in the forest just outside of the town, and as Kisame rested he began cursing and grumbling.

"God dammit, I need a drink," Kisame cursed, rubbing his burnt arm. His face was a little swollen and the side of his head was bleeding from where Ari had struck him.

"Hmph," Itachi grunted, "Calm down, Kisame, we'll get the NineTails later."

"You know, that girlfriend of yours is kind of a bitch!" Kisame spat, "the little shit doesn't even seem human! What is she, some kind of demon? That would explain her nickname at least…"

Itachi shot Kisame a nasty glare, "Watch it, Kisame."

"I don't even know why you liked her to begin with! She's a shithead! And you know what she called me? She called me Fish-Sticks! Do I look like a fish to you? Don't answer that! You have really poor taste in women, Itachi! I hope you know!" Kisame ranted.

Itachi groaned, "Quit whining. You're just bitter because you got your ass handed to you by a girl who is not even half your size. I warned you she was strong, but you didn't listen."

Kisame pouted, "half my size or not, she has a bad attitude…though I must say she's really hot."

"Kisame…"

"What? She's _your_ girlfriend, you can suffer with her. I'll just enjoy the show!"

Itachi grimaced, "Ugh…now I'm going to need a drink…"

"Too bad you're still underaged!" Kisame teased. Man, he wasn't letting up. If Kisame wasn't careful he was about to become just like his new nickname: Fish-Sticks. Deep-fried Fish-Sticks. "I'm just messing with you, Itachi," Kisame grinned as he noticed Itachi started to lose his temper, "that's never stopped you before. I heard this town has a really great pub, let's go. We can forget about today."

"No thanks," Itachi said, "I think I'll pass this time."

Kisame raised an eyebrow, "you sure?"

"Yeah," Itachi said, deep in thought.

Kisame shrugged, "your loss. Just watch yourself, okay?"

"You too," and with that, Itachi turned and made his way to Konoha once again.

He needed to speak with Danzo and the other elders.

He snuck through the defenses yet again—it was even easier at night—and made his way to the main government office in the center of the village. He snuck down to the basement where secret meetings were held and treaded his way towards Danzo's office. He knocked on the door and stepped inside to see a shadowed figure sitting at the desk, but he didn't pay too much attention to it.

"Danzo, forgive me for the intrusion today, but I must have a word with you," he began saying as he turned a couple of lights on and stepped inside, closing the door. "And why do you always keep it so dark in here? I can't see anything—" Itachi froze as he looked up.

It wasn't Danzo sitting at the desk.

In the most professional way possible, eyeing Itachi intently, Ari said in a straight face, "Sorry, Danzo is currently out of office for the night. May I take a message?"

* * *

**Ari**

His face was priceless. If I still wasn't tense from the day's events and if he wasn't running around acting like a criminal, I would've fallen out of the chair laughing so hard! But instead, I leaned back into the surprisingly comfy office chair and placed my feet on Danzo's desk.

I had gotten into his office after an interrogation with the two advisors. I found Koharu and Homura working late in the Hokage's office again.

"Where is Danzo?" I asked bursting through the door. Both the advisors jumped and eyed me skeptically.

"He is out with Root. He won't be back until morning," Homura said, "Goodness gracious, child, what could you want with him at this time of night?"

"I need to borrow his office for a little bit," I said, "I know it sounds weird, but you have to trust me on this."

"What? What are you plotting, Ariala?" Koharu asked sternly.

"I have a hunch that Itachi Uchiha is on his way to see one of your three, and Danzo being the one in charge of Konoha's secrets and slightly darker side, my guess is he's coming for him," I said.

"Then what are you doing, wanting his office?" Koharu asked alarmed, "we need to send ANBU after him now!"

"Now, now, guys, no need to get your panties in a wad," I lectured, much to their displeasure, "we all know that Itachi is only here to talk. And I need to talk to Itachi, but that's not going to happen unless I can corner him."

Homura narrowed his eyes, "just what do you need to talk to Itachi about?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," I said nonchalantly, "just about the mongekyo sharingan, how long it'll take before Kakashi and Sasuke regain consciousness after being hit by the Tsukuyomi, the massacre and the deal he made with Danzo, making sure that there aren't any more ties to the Uchiha that are pissed off about the clan's failed overthrow…"

"You knew about their planned coup? Did Itachi tell you that?" Koharu asked, stunned. At that, my eyes widened.

"Nope," I said, "you just did."

At that, the two advisors exchanged fairly angry glances. Homura then asked, "and if you do talk to Itachi, then what? Regardless of what his orders were or were not, he is living his life as a criminal. He can't come back to the village. And if you are consulting with him, we'll have to treat you the same."

I shook my head, "look, I'm not going to run off with him or anything. And if my thinking is correct, all the intelligence that we have received about the Akatsuki's sudden movement in recent months has come from a secret source that's only communicating with the leaf. And I'll be any money that Ita's our source."

The two said nothing.

I continued, "so why don't we just arrest the guy that Itachi's been cooperating with then? Huh? And besides," I leaned in and whispered, "I think this village owes my family a debt. And we all know what I am referring to. I don't care whether what happened can be justified or not, you know what I am, and you know what I can do. I care about this village, but if you turn against me I will not hesitate to defend myself. And unlike Dad, you can't seal me away. You can't even kill me."

Homura and Koharu both exchanged nervous glances. They knew I was right. They then turned to me and granted me access to Danzo's office.

"Make it quick," Koharu said, "we can't have anyone catching wind of you speaking with Itachi."

"Understood," I said.

And then there I was, face-to-face with my old teammate. The Silent and Deadly were reunited again.

"A-A-Ari?" Itachi stammered in disbelief.

I spread my arms slightly and smiled, "In the flesh!"

"But how did you…?"

"Koharu and Homura let me in. They figured someone had to greet you," I explained.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "I don't understand…"

"Well, since you've been talking to Jiraiya about Akatsuki's movements, and since Danzo's down working with Root tonight, someone had to hold this meeting when you came in to give your report, right?" I said a cheesy and sarcastic smile plastered on my face.

Itachi's mouth hung open and he scoffed in disbelief, "how do you know about all that? Who told you?"

I grinned, "You."

At that, Ita shot me a nasty glare, his face turning beat red. He then lowered his voice and asked, "just how much do you know…?"

I stood up and paced around Danzo's desk, my hands behind my back before I walked up to the man before me and explained, "well, something about a coup d'etat the Uchiha was planning."

Itachi didn't trust me, thinking I was still trying to squeeze information out of him, "Oh? Really? And who told you that? It wasn't me because I know nothing about that."

"Actually, you do," I said, walking past him, "See, I got the two advisors with that trick earlier and they told me about the coup. So I'm guessing that's why you killed them. It was an order."

"Hn."

"Humming," I noted, "which means that's what happened."

"You don't know anything about me," Ita barked, shifting his weight back and forth uncomfortably.

I turned back around and shot Ita a nasty glare, "I don't think you're in the position to be accusing me, Itachi. Don't forget about the years of heartbreak and grief you've given me."

At that, Itachi shut his mouth and looked down.

I took a step towards him, placing my hand underneath his chin and getting him to look at me, "but that doesn't mean I'm still angry with you," I said gently, "all I need from you now is to talk to me. Just tell me the truth. No one is around and I'm not going to tell your secrets."

Itachi bit his lip, his eyes shifting around. "And why aren't you?" he asked, "why don't you hate me? I'm a criminal. I killed my entire clan, orders or not."

"Because I know how much it hurt you to do that deed," I said, "and I know that you still love me."

"I still love you," Itachi scoffed, "and what makes you think that?"

I placed my hand on his silver necklace and stated, "you seemed pretty worried about this old thing when it fell into the river earlier."

"Agh!" Itachi swiped my hand away and walked over to Danzo's desk. He leaned against the wall opposite from me and crossed his arms, avoiding my gaze. I shrunk towards the other wall and crossed my arms, watching Itachi intently. I had clearly put him in a difficult position, and I hadn't realized how upset I would make him with this confrontation.

I pursed my lips and muttered, "I've missed you…"

At that Itachi turned his eyes towards me, looking up at me with that same pitiful gaze he gave me the night his brother was born when he had been worrying so much about his family. Itachi had grown up. Those eyes were encased in a man's face now, but they still held the same innocence, the same gentleness, and the same kindness that didn't really seem to belong in a world of shinobi.

Ita then looked away and pushed himself off the wall lightly. He sighed heavily as his form pitched forward slightly, defeated. "I missed you too…" he whispered.

At that, I fought back the tears and walked up to him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled, "you can talk to me, you know."

"Hmph," Itachi responded.

I glared at him, "god, I swear, your humming can be pretty annoying sometimes!"

Ita threw his hands up and backed away from me slightly, "well, I'm _sorry_, but this isn't exactly something I can talk about, you know!"

At that I laughed, "you're right, I'm sorry. But I really did miss you. A lot."

Itachi turned to face me fully. I placed my hands around his neck, running my fingers through his hair. Itachi gazed down at me, his eyes glistening. Slowly, he placed his hands around my waist and pulled me close. He then cracked a beautiful smile and joked, "even the humming?"

I giggled, smiling wide, "yes, even the humming."

This time, I pressed my lips against his when he was unprepared. Itachi jumped back slightly for a moment, but then he leaned back into me, pulling me closer to him. Our kiss became more and more passionate. My hands shifted around his neck, one ran down his side. His hands moved up and down my back, rubbing it lightly as his hands grazed lightly over my side underneath my armpit. He licked my lips lightly and I opened my mouth as we explored each other. I sat back on the desk and he stood over me, balancing some of his weight on me as I opened my legs up slightly to let him closer.

And then came the knock on the door.

We broke free of our make-out session and looked up, startled and our hair in disarray. A young Root Member's voice spoke through the wall, "Lord Danzo? Are you in here?"

The Root member opened the door and looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He walked over to the desk and set a stack of papers down, then sat down in the chair to leave Danzo a note. The entire time, Ita and I watched through the coat closet in Danzo's office, our bodies pressed up against each other as we panted heavily but silently. I masked both of our chakra signatures in case this kid was a sensory type.

_*Well this is slightly awkward* _I thought. Itachi suppressed a chuckle.

_*Oh, I'd say we've been in worse situations before*_ he replied. I nodded my head to the side.

_*That, my dear, is very very true.*_

The root member left and we both spilled out of the closet. Ita sat on the ground and I placed my hands on my hips. "Well, I think we're done here…you wanna come back to my house?"

"Actually, I should probably get going," Itachi mumbled, "it's getting late and I left Kisame at the bar…and I'm sure half of Konoha is after my head right about now."

I sighed, frowning and said, "Alright. Well, be careful."

Noticing my disappointment, Itachi stood up and clasped my hand, "I can walk you home if you want, though."

I shook my head, "Ita, I'm fine. Thanks for the offer though, you worry about yourself."

"You never let me walk you home," Ita pouted, "and besides, that wasn't an offer."

I eyed Ita curiously, but he scooped me into his arms holding me bridal-style and dashed out of the office. I wasn't used to being carried and Ita ran, hopping from building to building with such speed I had to hold in a few screams. He landed at my doorstep and I quickly unlocked the door and brought him in. We went straight up to my room, avoiding windows and sat on my bed like we used to.

"I thought you had to go," I said.

"I do," Ita began, "but I need to take in this moment first. I probably won't see you again unless it's on the battlefield…"

I frowned and looked down. He had a point. This would probably be the last time we spent together as anything other than enemies. What we didn't know yet, however, was that we were actually about to see a lot of each other, and our love was about to grow and blossom more than we had ever imagined. And for a few short years, we would be able to find a way to live in a secret peace together.

With nothing better to think of, I pulled out the scrapbook I had been working on and showed Ita what I had put together. By this point, the book was just over half-full and was filled with mostly Naruto and Sasuke by this point. I caught Ita up on every event that happened with those two, and Ita listened intently, practically living each moment as I told my stories.

"So Orochimaru gave Sasuke the Curse Mark, huh?" Itachi asked, frowning. His eyes were sad as he said, "when he was still with Akatsuki, Orochimaru tried to steal my body for my eyes. I'd imagine he'll attempt the same with Sasuke."

I grimaced as he spoke, "Ita, think about what you just said there…"

Ita thought hard as he calculated for a brief moment and then grimaced, groaning, "Oh, Ari! Not like that! Ugh, you know what I mean!"

At that I giggled lightly and grinned, "haha! I know, I'm just messing with you."

Itachi chuckled and smiled back at me, "you have such a pretty smile, you know that? You should smile this big more often."

I chuckled lightly and shook my head, "you think so? Well, I really only smile this much when I'm with you."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, his face turning pink as he teased, "So is that smile one that you saved for me? I'm flattered!" He then leaned in and kissed me gently. I leaned back onto the bed as he positioned himself on top of me. We made out and attempted to push the boundaries. I unbuttoned his cloak exposing his t-shirt which he swiftly took off. He pressed his body against mine and I managed to strip down to my underwear, but suddenly my body raised all of the red flags when my shirt tried to come off.

I squirmed and let out a slight yelp and Ita jumped and pushed away from me. "Did I hurt you?" he asked, alarmed. I shook my head, panting hard, trembling.

"N-no," I said, "Sorry, I don't know what that was about."

Itachi eyed me suspiciously but I gestured for him to continue. We slowly got back into rhythm as he took his pants off and I wriggled my way out of my shirt so he was in his boxers and I was in my bra and underwear. But again, as soon as his hand grazed over my breast, I squealed and pushed him off me.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I said, sitting up and placing my hands on my head. What the hell was wrong with me? This has been what I've wanted, hasn't it?

Ita hesitantly approached me. "Ari, I don't think this is such a good idea," he sighed, stroking my cheek, "I'm not pushing you into something you're uncomfortable with."

"No! No!" I whined, "I'm fine! I just…I don't know!"

I fought back the tears and looked down. This was Ita we were talking about! He was the love of my life and now I finally had him in my arms and I was ready to give myself to him, so why was I freaking out like this? Man…and this was probably the only chance I had too!

Ita smiled sweetly and said, "You may be ready, but your body isn't. We never even got to the other bases before today, and we kissed like what, twice? And we haven't seen each other in a few years, so it's natural, Ari. Don't worry about it. I'm not sure I'm even ready."

I fought back tears, furious with myself, "but if not now…when? Just when? You're a wanted criminal now! I'm never going to see you again, and-!"

Ita broke me off with a kiss as tears hung at the corners of my eyes. He pushed me down onto my back before he broke and whispered into my ear, "someday, my love. I will find you again and you will be mine, my sweet wild flower."

As he said that, my mind flashed back to that night where a dream of our little Hana came to be, and I thought of the sweet baby that Auntie Tabi had planned to give to me but had lost when she was sealed away again. At that thought I began to whimper and broke out into tears. I covered my face as I cried.

"Ari, what's wrong?" Ita asked gently, his heart visibly breaking as he watched me cry. I sat up and melted into his chest as he held me and stroked my hair. I cried and cried, but I didn't tell him about the conversation with Auntie. I didn't tell him about Hana. I couldn't.

"I'm sorry, I—" I choked, but shook my head. I couldn't stop crying and I didn't know why. Ita just held me in his arms and rocked me back and forth like a child.

"I know, honey, I know," he whispered gently, his voice shaking, "I'm sorry."

I felt like such an idiot. Of all people who should have been the comforting one that night, it should have been me. After all that Itachi had been through, he should have been crying in my arms. And yet, I was the one balling like a baby, being rocked in his arms as he sung softly to me with his rich and beautiful voice. Though in that moment, I didn't care about how stupid I was being, all that mattered was that I was in Itachi's arms, and I could finally let out all of the bottled up pain I held inside me for years.

When I had finally calmed down, I pulled away from him and wiped my eyes, "I'm so sorry about that."

Itachi smiled sadly and wiped a tear off my cheek, "don't be. Everyone needs a good cry now and then. Even men."

I nodded and leaned my head against his chest, "I love you…"

Itachi kissed the top of my head, "I love you too."

We remained silent for a few minutes before Itachi looked at the clock and sighed heavily, "I really do need to get going…"

"Oh shit, sorry," I cursed, wiping my face as I stood. I threw my pajamas on as Itachi got dressed back up in his Akatsuki cloak. I ran down stairs and grabbed leftovers out of the fridge and heated them up. I then plated them and wrapped them in tin foil before packing them in a medium-sized lunch sack and gave to Ita. "I figured you didn't have any dinner yet so…"

Itachi gladly accepted the food as he turned to leave through my bedroom window (it was safer than waltzing out the front door). "I'll see you soon," he said. I nodded, feeling a little uncertain. We then shared a long embrace and he held me tightly. As he pulled away, he kissed my lips gently, "I love you."

"I love you too," I smiled. And with that, he slipped away, and I wouldn't see him again for who knew how long.

Which for those of you who are wondering, it was actually only a month before I saw him again.


	10. Chapter 9: A Not-so-Luxury Vacation!

**Ari**

So just to make things clear, from the time Auntie Tabi came to visit me, I had had just about the worst year of my life up to that point, and it was all finished off in a nice little disaster package when Sasuke abandoned the village.

I raced through the trees alongside Kakashi. Naruto and several of his friends were dispatched to retrieve Sasuke from the Sound Four who had convinced him to join Orochimaru, but we were getting reports back that the group had split up, and several of the boys had already been taken down. Choji and Neji were in the worst of conditions and had been left to medical teams to receive immediate treatment. Then those two were transported back to the Leaf and were only allowed in the hands for the fifth hokage, Tsunade and her assistant Shizune. Kiba, Lee, and Shikamaru were in stable condition when we arrived having received only mild to moderate injuries. The Sand Village's Gaara, Temari, and Konkuro all arrived in time to help. Without those three, I wasn't sure our boys would even be alive.

So that just left Naruto, and he was nowhere to be found. And it was raining. When Naruto's trail had all but vanished from the downpour, Kakashi summoned one of his dogs, Pakkun.

"It's faint, but his scent is this way," the little pug called out. Kakashi and I followed close behind, "he seems to be unconscious!"

My heart began to sink. I didn't know what kind of condition I was going to find him in. And Pakkun made no mention of Sasuke which could only mean…

As fate would have it, Naruto was standing just off the bank of the river that continued after the waterfall in the Valley of the End. He was lying flat on his back, covered in in a mix of his blood and Sasuke's. There was a hole in his chest that had already begun to heal and regenerate. I stared up at the monuments of Hashirama and Madara before I took a closer look at Naruto. If only those two hadn't…I was at a loss for words. Hadn't what? There was so much that had happened, but everything, and what seemed to be everyone's suffering, from the Bijuu to my family, to the Uchiha, and to pretty much all of the Leaf began with those two.

I shook the nostalgia off and knelt down beside Naruto, attempting to mend his wounds before we took him to the hospital. Thankfully, Naruto was an incredibly strong boy and a fast healer, so it didn't take much to stabilize him. I tried to ignore the extra Leaf headband lying on Naruto's chest, a diagonal scratch running through it.

"That headband…" Kakashi noted, "that's Sasuke's isn't it…"

I nodded, "as badly wounded Naruto is, I can't imagine Sasuke being much better. I'm sensing trace amounts of my father's aura. It's making my skin tingle. Which could only mean Naruto released a massive amount of chakra in this battle, no human can escape from attacks like that completely unscathed."

"So what do you think, Ari?" Kakashi asked, "how far do you think Sasuke's gotten?"

"Not far," I said, "you take Naruto back. I'll catch up with you later. I'm no sensory type, but Tailed Beasts and half-demons can feel when their kin are near. There is probably some left-over chakra hanging onto Sasuke and I can find him with that."

"Alright," Kakashi said. He got Naruto on his back and I took Sasuke's headband and gave it a quick sniff. Yep, there was a massive amount of Dad's chakra on it; I kept it with me for reference as I took off. It didn't take long for me to catch Sasuke's presence, but he was far away and moving fast and I couldn't quite place where he was. I wandered aimlessly for several hours, the rain continued to poor harder and harder where I was until I was practically wading in mud.

Then suddenly, I felt Sasuke vanish. What I hadn't realized at the time was that Sasuke had stepped into Orochimaru's lair, which was actually pretty close to where I was. However, it was underground and invisible to the naked eye. Not to mention, Orochimaru filled the entrance with special medicinal incense that blocked off any chakra signature, making the person disappear to any ninja hound or sensory ninja who was trailing them. But when Sasuke vanished on me, my limbs suddenly went numb and I quickened my pace.

"No…" I gasped. "Sasuke!" I called out. I ran around in circles, hopping up into trees trying to get a better view. "Sasuke! Where are you?"

I called his name out more, but there was no answer to be heard. The rain continued to pour harder and I knew I would have to turn back soon. I was quickly approaching the Village Hidden in the Rain. It was a small and near ruined village caught inbetween the Leaf and the Sand and fell victim to both sides' exploitation during the Third Great Ninja War. As a result, the government system was weak and a civil war had broken out. The country as a result banned outsiders and was impossible to pass the border. Outsiders were not tolerated and if I continued further, I would be captured. I grimaced, fighting whether to take that risk or not, but eventually I fell to my knees. Sasuke was lost to us. Orochimaru was probably in the process of taking Sasuke's body already…

"Dammit!" I screamed loudly, pounding my fist in the mud. I heard footsteps approaching me and I jumped. Two cloaked figures wearing the red-clouded Akatsuki robes came towards me. My eyes widened. Ita…? But then I saw the puff of orange hair and my heart sank. The freak was probably just out to kill me for being in his territory or something stupid.

"What's the matter?" the man asked, "Are you in pain?"

I chuckled almost sarcastically. Was he joking? "Sir, I've been in pain since the day I was born. I don't know if Itachi has told you anything about me, but I've had a pretty shitty life and I am in a _really_ bad mood so unless you want your ass handed to you, I suggest you leave me alone."

The man knelt down in front of me and looked into my eyes. I was almost hypnotized by the purple ripple-pattern that came out from his pupils. The Rinnegan…that was a kekkai genkai very few people ver got to see. I looked back up at his partner, she was a blue-haired woman with a paper flower in her hair. She was really pretty.

"You know Itachi?" the woman asked. I eyed her skeptically and nodded my head.

"We were teammates…before he left the village," I said, "I had a run in with him and his Fishy friend a few weeks ago. Seems like they were after my little brother. Mind telling me about that?"

"My apologies, it was only a mission for our purposes, surely you understand," the man said, "But with our intelligence, all of that means you are Ariala Drake, am I correct?"

"I am," I said. Oh dear, this isn't good…

The man stood and extended his hand for me. Still suspicious, I clasped onto it and stood up. His hand was eyes cold and his skin felt like paper, almost like a corpse. The man introduced himself, "I am the Leader of Akatsuki. I am Pein. And I am God."

"Oh," I said a little surprised by his intro, "well, nice to meet you, God, sir…"

Thankfully, this freak show didn't catch my sarcasm and continued, "forgive me for asking, but why are you so close to the Rain Village's border? It's awfully dangerous for a kunoichi of the leaf like yourself to be wandering this close to the border."

"I was looking for someone. A close friend of mine who's run away. But he disappeared and we fear that Orochimaru has plans to kill this young boy for his own personal gain," I explained.

Pein in response grimaced and the woman rolled her eyes. The woman said, "I'm Konan by the way. And Orochimaru is a traitor at heart. He's broken some ties with the Akatsuki and we've been after him as well. It seems that we have a common enemy, if you want we can help you locate your friend."

"I appreciate that but…Konoha is pretty stingy with who we associate with and I'm on a short leash as it is," I explained, "so I don't think me accepting help from the organization Itachi now works for would go over too well."

"I understand," Konan smiled kindly. She was a lot like Saya, and I felt a small bond forming between the two of us, even if she was a criminal. "But if we take Orochimaru down first, we'll be sure to try to point your friend in the direction of home," she said.

Shocked, I bowed. "Thank you so much," I said, "but…why would you go to such great lengths to help me? Aren't I your enemy?"

Pein and Konan exchanged glances, then Pein turned and said, "Unlike our employees, Konan and I are not necessarily in the bingo books. We have no grudges against other villages, we only wish to achieve our goal. We are a lot like you in a way, Ariala Drake, or should I say, Uzumaki?"

My eyes widened and I drew in a sharp breath, "did Itachi tell you…?"

Pein shook his head, "your chakra feels very similar to the Kyuubi's, and I've heard the stories about you as the Demon of the Leaf. It's an easy assumption to make. Have no fear; Itachi has kept his mouth shut about your identity. He has protected you. And he has spoken very highly of you as well. However, he never said anything, but I also know about you two…your encounter in the Leaf I mean."

I held my breath, "what?"

Pein nodded, "It's interesting that even after abandoning the village you still consider him your lover. Why is that?"

I sighed in relief. Good, they didn't know that Ita was actually a spy… I explained, "well, I guess it's for the same reason you've offered to help me. I'm no criminal, but I don't have any particular qualms with other countries. I lived the first years of my life drifting from land to land, and though I reside in Konoha, I don't have ties to the village that are so deep I hold grudges towards people I've never met. I consider myself the world's kunoichi, because all I want is to see peace in this world."

Konan smiled at that and Pein nodded in approval. "Well, it seems we both share the same goal," he said, "I commend you. Well, we are going now, but do you mind giving us the name of your friend so we can help you if he turns up?"

I raised an eyebrow but nodded, "if I do, then you're going to have to pass on this message to Ita—I mean, Itachi."

"Very well," Pein said.

"Tell him," I took in a deep breath and said, "tell him that his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha has abandoned the village and gone to Orochimaru. It's all out of revenge, Sasuke's lost his senses and he needs to come home. And then tell Ita…that Ari is so sorry she couldn't protect Sasuke and keep him from leaving."

After that encounter, Naruto ended up in the hospital for three days. I gave Sasuke's headband back to him and Naruto spent several nights crying when no one was around. Well, he thought no one was around. I had walked in on him weeping silently after a conversation with Jiraiya one evening and I took a step back. I tried to comfort him but, embarrassed, he swiped me away. He later apologized and gave me a hug, but I know he didn't mean it. He was just like me. I hated when people saw me cry.

Sakura was even worse. Poor girl mourned for Sasuke just like I had mourned for Ita, except Sakura had me to comfort her when she broke down crying while I kept my tears to myself. I don't know who it was harder on because, unlike me, Sakura was still stuck in the insecurity of not knowing whether she had a chance with him or not. Knowing how hell-bent on revenge Sasuke was, I was betting on not. I somehow doubted that Sasuke had taken notice to any girl. He was kind of arrogant in that sense. But if Ita had never left then…I don't know…Sasuke and Sakura might've ended up together like Ita and I did.

Eventually, Naruto got out of the hospital and Jiraiya had agreed to take the blond-haired boy in as an apprentice. Naruto had dinner at my house the last night he was in the village. I helped pack his bags and made sure he had enough clothes and toiletries to get him through the trip. And then, the next morning, I took a picture of Naruto and Jiraiya standing at the gates of Konoha. Kakashi was with us and offered to take a photo with me in it and I had two more photos to put into my scrapbook. Suddenly, my little boy was gone and off to see the world without me to hold him on my lap or feed him a good dinner. He was off to grow up, and I didn't see him for another three years.

I was thankful for Sakura who came over that first night with Naruto gone. I was a bit of a wreck and had fixed dinner for about four people as if I were expecting guests. I sighed heavily as I sat down alone. So much for family dinner…

But then there was a knock on the door.

"Sakura?" I asked, surprised, "it's late, dear, what are you doing out?"

"Well," Sakura stepped inside, "I was wondering if I could ask you for some advice…"

"Do your parents know where you are?" I asked. She nodded.

I smiled and said, "then come on in, I've got dinner waiting for you."

Sakura sat down across from me and I plated her some food. We ate in silence for a while, and Sakura's face lit up when she took a bite, "Wow! You're a great cook, Ari! You should teach me some time!"

I laughed, "Sure! I work part-time at the hospital when I'm not on missions so I'm free on most Thursdays. Just come on over and I'll show you the ropes!"

After Lady Tsunade stepped up to Hokage, the way missions were set up had changed a lot. It was mostly because of the rebuilding stages the village was in, but Tsunade used every shinobi she had, sending Chunin out on A- and S-ranked missions on occasion, where the Third Hokage often held shinobi to a certain class of missions based on their ranking. With that change, more and more shinobi were gaining battle experience and the ANBU were being utilized for different purposes, typically only the most difficult of S-ranked missions as well as scouting missions and espionage. I kind of liked the new set up, but with all of these changes, I no longer saw any need to stay in ANBU, and I felt my abilities were better fit in other areas, such as training young genin or accepting the less-tactical missions that required a strong leader and a wide range of fighting techniques, so I pulled out and my schedule suddenly freed up immensely, leaving me to work more at the hospital, go back to the gym and train (though I was a little too tall for a gymnast now, but I didn't care) and now, offer to teach Sakura how to cook.

Sakura pushed the food on her plate and she nervously asked, "what do you think about medical ninja?"

"Huh?" I responded, a little confused, "I think they are incredibly talented shinobi who are an important asset to this village. Without them, the Leaf would probably be about half the size it is now and I probably would have died long before I got into ANBU, much less gotten to this point. Of course I am a medical ninja part-time, so I am a little biased. Why?"

"Well…how hard is it? To become a medical ninja?" she asked.

"Well…if you have good chakra control, then it's not too bad, but you have to be at a certain level of control and efficiency with your chakra use and it does take years of training, as with everything else."

"Do you think I have what it takes for being a medical ninja?"

I stared at Sakura with wide eyes for a moment. She looked up at me, her green eyes sparkling with slight anxiety. I smiled and said, "Sakura, I think you'll make an excellent medical ninja. So tell me, who are you looking into as a teacher?"

"Well, I was thinking you…" Sakura said timidly, rocking back and forth in her chair.

"Well, I apologize, Sakura, but I'm probably not the best person to teach medical ninjutsu. Yes, I'm a good healer, but I'm a fighter by trade. I spend more time on the battlefield and my technique probably isn't the best as I deal with more first aid type of stuff. I can teach you the basics, but you're going to have to see a master if you want to utilize your full potential," I said.

"Is there anyone you could recommend me to?" she asked.

"There is one person who I think is fit to train you," I said, crossing my arms. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Sakura had the potential to become as well-known of a medical ninja as Ita and I were the Ultimate Tag Team. There was only one person in the world who could be acould teacher to her.

"Who's that?" Sakura sat up, her face lit up with excitement.

"Her name is Tsunade," I said.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked in disbelief, "Ari…I don't know if I'm good enough for the Hokage to take me…"

"Of course you are!" I retorted, "Sakura, if there is one thing I have learned in my life, it's that a shinobi is only as good as his teacher. It doesn't matter how smart or strong you are or how much potential you have, if you have a mediocre teacher who is teaching in a field outside of their expertise, then you will get nowhere, and the greater the potential, the greater the master you study under must be. When I look at you, I can only see the Hokage as one fit to teach you. She will be strict, and she doesn't take in too many students, but she has to be the one to teach you."

"Okay," Sakura slunk in her chair, "so…how to I talk to her?"

"Well, just go into her office and be yourself," I explained, "she's really disorganized so you don't have to set up an appointment. Just walk in when it's convenient for you and tell her you want to study under her. But don't do it until after tomorrow."

"Why not tomorrow?"

"Because," I smiled, "Tomorrow, I'm putting in a recommendation for you."

After that, Tsunade took Sakura on as her student, and Team 7 was each paired up with their own Sannin as a mentor. As we all know, nothing really happened in the three years that Naruto was off training. The Akatsuki decided to hold off on their movements during those three years while they regrouped and came up with battle strategies. Intelligence gathered told us that Sasuke wasn't absorbed by Orochimaru right away. Naruto's fight with him managed to stall for enough time that Orochimaru ran out of, and he had to absorb another body before he ran out of chakra and died, so it would take another three years before he could go after Sasuke again.

But there was one mission that Naruto went on while he was off training. I got to reunite with him, and he and Jiraiya accompanied me on this mission per Tsunade's request. And per Danzo's instructions and a chance encounter, we ended up receiving help from two certain Akatsuki members.

And I still make fun of one of them for looking like a fish.

This story begins about a month after the attack on Konoha (remember how long I said it would take for me to see Ita again?) and just a couple weeks after Naruto had left. I was called into Tsunade's office with orders to leave for a mission immediately after my briefing.

As I stepped in, I was surprised to see Tsunade accompanied by the three elders, Homura, Koharu, and Danzo. In front of her desk knelt a Root member clad in an ANBU mask and a hooded robe, disguising him completely. Danzo and the Root member nodded to each other, and the Root member disappeared. Tsunade cringed angrily, shooting Danzo a glare before she turned her attention to me.

"You needed to see me, Milady?" I asked walking up to where the Root member once stood.

"We have received some disturbing reports," Tsunade began, "the Land of Ogres is a small country to the south of the Land of Fire. It's a beautiful coastal country that is a very popular tourist destination. The land makes most of its revenue from resorts and attractions. But it is also considered a holy land where many priests and monks have taken pilgrimages to, including our own Feudal Lord."

I nodded, "however, the Land of Ogres is also rumored to be the birth place of the nine Tailed Beasts along with several other mythical beings such as imps and ogres and other presumably dangerous creatures, like myself for example," I gave a sarcastic grin at that joke and Tsunade pushed in a laugh as the three elders glared at the two of us.

"Correct. And as you probably know, this is where your mission comes into play," Tsunade continued, "At the outskirts of the country, on the legendary Fuchsia Beach lies one of the most popular and expensive resorts, the Utsukuma Inn. The Inn was renovated from a holy temple that had been taken over by demons according to legend. Because of its daring history, the building sat vacant and real estate agents have been afraid of even constructing other hotels despite the high property values of building on the pink-sand beaches of the coast. That is, of course, until the owner Motokuma Hoshiyo bought the temple and turned it into a hotel. Typically only celebrities stay there, people of the high upper class. The owner's daughter, Kagami Hoshiyo is even a world-famous singer who is known for her eccentric performances. However, there has been an uproar recently. Two hundred young women have gone missing over the past three months in the Land of Ogres. There is only one thing that these women have in common, though."

"They stayed at Utsukuma Inn," I guessed. Tsunade nodded.

"Naturally, we place Master Hoshiyo as a culprit in these disappearances, but he's the one who sent out the plea for our help in this case. The people of the Land of Ogres are superstitious and fear that this has been the work of vengeful demons who used to reside in the Inn. Hoshiyo fears that his daughter will be targeted next and has attempted to send her out of town on several occasions to keep that from happening, but because everyone is afraid of staying at the hotel now, he can't afford to send her on trips and could risk going bankrupt. He has asked us to dispel this issue before either of those become the case. You are to leave immediately," Tsunade explained.

I nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am! But…why are you sending just me on this mission? I get that I'm a half-demon and that's good reason for sending me out on this mission, but alone? If it is just a bunch of trouble-makers trying to get their temple back it could be a handful, even for me."

This time, Danzo spoke up, "I sent that ANBU before you out to scout out the situation and obtain some intelligence on the situation. He will meet up with you and aid you on this mission."

I nodded and narrowed my eyes at Danzo. "Okay…" I said.

Tsunade spoke up, "I also contacted Jiraiya the other day and he was that he and Naruto were actually on their way to train in the Land of Ogres. Chances are that you'll run into them, so feel free to ask them for help."

"Okay, I can do that," I said, catching Tsunade's hint. Really, she didn't trust Danzo and didn't like the thought of a Root Member tagging along with me to possibly try and sweep this mission under the rug. So in reality, Jiraiya probably knew to rendezvous with me and the three of us would accomplish this mission as a group.

I ran home to pack my bag and prepare my weapons pouch. I threw on a tank-top and a thin vest with the Uzumaki clan's crest on the back. I pulled my hair back in a tight ponytail and put on some leather, fingerless gloves on and strapped my twin swords onto my back. By chance I had forgotten to take my camera out of my backpack.

About a day and a half into my trip I ran into Naruto and Jiraiya as we approached the border. The two were sitting outside a shrine. Naruto was running around and Jiraiya was writing.

"Hey guys!" I said as I hopped down from the roof of the shrine, "Long time, no see!"

"Ari!" Naruto gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission," I said, "on my way to the Land of Ogres."

Jiraiya stood up and put his book away, "Really? That's where we're heading. Anything we can help you with?"

"Actually, yeah," I said. I briefed them on my mission, explaining the situation, "now, my plan is to check into the hotel as guests and hang around for a while, just to see what this hotel is like and scout out any abnormalities. I don't know how long this will take and the hotel is really expensive, but the village has already booked a few reservations for me and is helping us pay for the expenses of staying."

"And how do you intend to go about the situation after that?" Jiraiya, "you aren't using yourself as bait are you?"

"Well, if I have to, I will," I explained, "I'm a young woman around the same age as the ones who have gone missing. And on top of that I'm…" I glanced over at Naruto and tried to be careful with how I phrased my words, "well, my dad's side of the family has some ties to the Land of Ogres…according to legend at least. And really, I can't come up with a plan until I get there and see what the situation is like."

"All RIGHT!" Naruto shot up to his feet, cheering, "I've been waiting for a mission like this! I'm ready to kick some demon butt!"

"Easy, Naruto," Jiraiya chided, "we have to approach a mission like this calm and collected if he hope to keep a low profile. When we get there, we're going to have to hide all traces of being shinobi. We'll need to invest in some tourist clothes."

"So shall we go?" I asked.

We traveled across the Land of Ogres and were half-way to our destination when I noticed something was off: we were being followed. I raised my hand for the two to stop.

"What's wrong Ari? Why'd you stop?" Naruto asked. I grimaced, I wasn't used to being on a mission with Naruto, and this wasn't like Itachi or another ANBU where I could simply twist my words and keep our pursuers from catching onto us.

"Uhh…nothing, just stay quiet," I whispered. Naruto shrugged and kept walking, despite my orders.

"Naruto!" I scolded.

"There's nothing out here! Geez, shit your pants, why don't you…"

"LANGUAGE!"

"Whaaaat?"

I ignored Naruto's retort and averted my attention to the bushes behind me. That's where they were. I spun around and released a chakra chain that turned into a light whip. I'll just smoke them out. I slashed the bushes and I heard someone yelp as two figures leapt out from hiding and stood before me. Naruto let out a scream and jumped back, I pulled out my twin swords, and Jiraiya readied himself to summon some help.

"You two!" Naruto growled.

"Naruto, it's good to see you," Ita said coolly.

I glared at him, "What are you two doing here, Weasel?"

Ita narrowed his eyes, "I think I like Ponytail a bit better…"

"Too bad, Weasel's funnier. Now just what are you guys up to?"

Kisame stepped forward and unsheathed his Samehada as he stated, "we're on our way to the Utsukuma Inn. We have some business to attend to…"

"I see," Jiraiya said, "so are you the ones responsible for the kidnappings there?"

"Kidnappings?" Ita raised an eyebrow, surprised. He and I exchanged glances before Ita turned back to Jiraiya and explained, "We haven't heard about any kidnappings lately, nor have we been involved in any. Someone stole an important scroll from the Akatsuki last week and we've been told that it may be hidden at the Utsukuma Inn. We are simply on our way there to investigate. And if it's there, retrieve the scroll."

I stood back up fully and sheathed my swords, "A scroll, huh?" This was certainly interesting, first the missing women and now the Akatsuki had something stolen from them too. "What was in that scroll."

"Nothing of your concern," Kisame retorted, "it had top secret information that we require to achieve a specific goal. Our Leader requires it to learn an important summoning jutsu and asked us to retrieve it and figure out why someone from that resort would steal it."

"Well, how about we work out a deal?" I offered, placing my hands on my hips. Everyone except Ita jumped and looked at me confused, "If you help us find these missing women and stop the kidnapper, we'll help you get your scroll back."

"You can't be serious," Kisame muttered, "is this some kind of trick?"

"Ari! We can't work with _them_! Itachi's the reason Sasuke went to Orochimaru!" Naruto shouted.

I glared back at both of them, "Look, Utsukuma Inn was once a cursed temple where dangerous monsters lived. And I know from experience that the Land of Ogres doesn't have a history full of daisies and rainbows. Both missions are incredibly dangerous for a team under three people, assuming demons are involved in either one. We could use each other's help. So how about we set aside some momentary truce, and help each other out. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

Itachi and Kisame looked at each other and Naruto stared at me like I was an idiot. I looked over at Jiraiya who nodded in approval.

"I think I can set aside any grudges for the day, don't you, Itachi? Kisame?" Jiraiya said.

Ita nodded, "It doesn't look like there is much choice."

Kisame and Naruto were outraged as they both shrieked, "WHAT?"

"Itachi, you've got to be kidding me. That's the Nine-Tailed brat over there, and there is no way in hell that I am working with _her_!"

"What did I ever do to you, Fish-Sticks?" I spat back.

Kisame let out a frustrated squawk and pointed at me saying, "See?"

The grudges were temporarily set aside when we heard movement in the bushes. Everyone froze as a horrible stench and a terrifying aura passed through the area.

"Did you feel that?" I asked, in disbelief.

"Ari," Ita stated urgently. I looked back at him, his sharingan was activated as he looked around, a frantic expression in his eyes. "Speed," he ordered, "ten!"

I nodded and counted down from ten as I quickly got close to Naruto and Jiraiya as Itachi stepped next to Kisame. "Get ready to run…" I said, "…NOW!"

A massive form came crashing down from the trees as all five of us leapt in opposite directions. I looked back to see a _huge_ monster with a spider's body and what seemed to be a woman's torso with really long arms, stringy black hair, and a faceless head with only a scare-crows mouth. That thing let out a horrifying cackle as it reached down and scooped up Naruto.

"AAAH!" he screamed.

"Naruto!" I cried out. The spider turned its attention towards me and began to chase after me. Man it was fast, and that was saying something because I leapt through the trees as fast as I possibly could!

"Ari! Run faster!" Naruto pleaded as the monster gained on me.

"I'm TRYING!" I yelled back.

From above, I heard Itachi call out, "Firestyle: Fireball Jutsu!" as he breathed out a massive fireball, scorching the spider's face. The monster screeched in pain and dropped Naruto. Itachi and I dropped back to the ground, following Naruto, Ita scooped the boy up in his arms and we made a mad dash for the nearest hiding place.

We slid under a small tunnel made from tree roots that were covered heavily in moss. We had no idea where Jiraiya and Kisame were, but we knew they were safe because the spider had its sights set on us three. It stomped around on its eight legs, scanning the forest.

"_Come out, come out, wherever you are, Magots!_" the monster hissed with the voice of an old witch. The three of us laid on our stomachs and watched as the spider passed, searching for us. She could smell us, she just didn't know where exactly we were. My arm was already around Naruto, so I held out my hand and Ita took it in his. I then sent out a pulse and masked all three of our chakras.

"_What?_" the spider grew confused, "_Where did they go?_" It then turned to scan another part of the forest. I let out a sigh of relief, but found Naruto staring at me with the most panicked expression.

"What?" I whispered.

"Don't hold hands with him!" Naruto screeched. In the distance we heard the stomping stop as the spider turned towards the sound of our voices.

"Don't talk, it can hear us," I whispered urgently. Naruto covered his mouth but still glared at Ita.

_*Okay…so, any ideas?*_ I asked Ita.

_*Well, she doesn't seem to like fire that much…*_

_*No one does, Ita…got anything else?*_

_*She's also very sensitive to sound. She has to be at least ten kilometers away and she still heard you and Naruto whispering. Imagine what she'd hear to something loud like…you know those two elder frogs that Jiraiya summons when he goes into sage mode?*_

_*Yeah.*_

_*Well, do you remember that one mission you, Shisui, and I went on with Master Jiraiya and we fought against that one blind ninja who could maneuver through echolocation so he was immune to my genjutsu? Jiraiya summoned Ma and Pa to use that frog song of there so pull him into a drunken stupor…if that spider is as sensitive to sound as she is, imagine what that frog song will do to her.*_

_*But we need Jiraiya for that. Where is he?*_

Ita pointed up at the trees, _*He and Kisame are both hiding at the top of that tree in front of us. If we can get up there…*_

_*If being the key word, sweetheart.*_

Ita gave me an annoyed look, and thought back sarcastically, _*I know, darling. Just trust me on this. If we act fast we'll be fine. She's far enough away right now.*_

I sighed heavily and nodded. I tugged on Naruto's shirt, trying to get him to follow us. Confused, Naruto obeyed and we quietly slid out of our hiding place. In the distance, the spider's stomping stopped again, listening for any disturbances in the forest. I looked at Naruto and placed my finger in front of my lips to tell him to be quiet, then pointed up at the trees. Naruto nodded in understanding and the three of us tiptoed up the tree and carefully weaved our way through branches. We made it to where Jiraiya and Kisame stood and I motioned for them to be quiet.

Unfortunately, Naruto leapt with joy and shouted as loud as he could, "PERVY-SAGE! You will _not_ believe what I just saw!"

"_FOUND YOU!" _I heard the spider-witch hiss loudly as the earth began to shake.

"_Naruto!_" I shouted back at him angrily, "I told you to be quiet!"

Naruto threw his hands up innocently in a panic, "Sorry!"

"Master Jiraiya," Ita said urgently, ignoring mine and Naruto's spat, "we need you to summon Ma and Pa. We know how to beat this spider, but you have to be quick."

"Those two? But it takes me quite a while to prepare for that type of summoning," Jiraiya eyed skeptically, "I don't think we have time."

"We don't need you to go into sage mode," I explained, "we just need those two. That spider is hyper-sensitive to sound!"

"Oh! I see!" Jiraiya grinned as he bit his finger, weaving hand signs for the summoning, "The Ultimate Tag Team is at it again with their genius plans!"

"That was all him," I blushed.

Naruto glared at me, "NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR FLATTERY!"

"Oh my god, Naruto! Shut your pie hole for a minute, okay?" I ordered. Naruto crossed his arms and started pouting. I rolled my eyes and face-palmed.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Jiraiya called out as he slammed his palm to the tree branch underneath him. In the puff of smoke, two smaller, elderly toads appeared.

"Jiraiya-boy, what did you summon us for? And where is your sage mode?" Pa asked as he looked around. He then looked up and saw the company with Jiraiya. Pa jumped, "Itachi Uchiha? What are you doing here? I thought you left the village!"

Jiraiya explained, "both of our teams have been sent on fairly similar missions. And right now we're all in a bit of a bind, and we could use your help. Itachi and Ari have both come up with a plan."

Itachi knelt down before Ma and Pa and bowed his head respectfully, "My elders, forgive me for the inconvenience but we are being trailed and attacked by a large demon spider who is hypersensitive to sound. We think that your toad song will be able to stop her."

"Oh, that dreary old thing?" Ma cringed, "I'm sorry, Itachi, but my vocal chords have been going in recent years! I'm not the singer I was."

"Oh, nonsense, Ma! You sing fine! It's a demon we're dealing with, it won't take much for our harmonizing to get her under a genjutsu!" Pa scolded, he then turned back to Itachi and nodded, "Sure thing, just let us know when."

At that moment, the spider leapt out of the trees and hissed, planning to attack us, "_Die!_"

Ma and Pa hopped up onto Jiraiya's shoulders and the five of us made a run for it, hopping underneath the tree cover.

"I'd say now would be a good time to whip up that song!" I said. The two toads made hands signs and lifted their heads, building up chakra in their throats as the skin folds puffed out. Above us, we heard the spider get stuck coming down from the trees. "Everyone back up and get behind Jiraiya," I ordered, "It'll take some time for the song to take affect so we want enough distance so that we can hold our position if she charges for us."

"We're ready, just say when," Ma choked out, holding in her croaks.

"Ari?" Ita asked. I held my hand up.

"Wait for her to fall to the ground," I ordered, "Everyone get behind me and Jiraiya."

The spider came crashing to the ground before she rolled back on to her eight feet. She let out an angry hiss, her scare-crow fixated into a hideous frown.

"Now!" I ordered. Ma and Pa began croaking, releasing their genjutsu song. The spider began to charge at us but hissed again as the soundwaves reached her. She covered where her ears should've been and hunkered down for a moment, before she continued charging at us, but the more the song played, the more it bothered the spide.

"_No! Stop! No more!_" she cried out, staggering backwards, "_Please!_" Eventually she crashed into some trees, unable to move in a straight line.

"Ita, try some firestyl jutsu again," I said, "see what happens."

"Alright," Ita said. He ran forward and did another fireball jutsu, burning the spider's face and torso.

"_Aaah! My beautyyyyy! My face! My body! I'm ruined!_" the spider screeched and ran away, still on fire. We heard loud crashing sounds in the distance before complete silence. We figured that that was the end of the spider demon.

Ma and Pa said their goodbyes and returned home. I looked back at Kisame and said, "you still want to play hostile with me?"

"No, no!" Kisame laughed nervously, "I never said anything like that! We're on the same team now, aren't we?"

I rolled my eyes, "whatever you say, Fish-Sticks."

Kisame frowned, "But you know what, could you not call me Fish-Sticks? At least while we're working together?"

I sighed heavily, "Alright, alright. How does Sharkfin sound?"

Kisame's face contorted funny, "How does Kisame sound?"

I shook my head, "Sorry. That's too boring. So Sharkfin then?"

"No."

I pressed a finger to my chin and thought, "Aquaman."

"That's worse."

"Blue Boy?"

"No!"

"Okay, okay, I've got it, Baaaby Shark Doo-do-do-do-dodo!"

"Absolutely not! Itachi!"

"What?" Ita asked, "you can't stop her. She has nicknames for everyone."

Kisame groaned.

"Okay, this is my last and final offer," I said, "if you don't like it, I'm sticking to Fish-Sticks, you ready?"

Kisame cringed, "What is it…?"

"Jaws?"

Kisame was silent for a long time, glaring at me. He didn't like it but finally he gave up, "Okay, fine. It's better than nothing."

"Alright!" I cheered, patting Jaws on the back, "Welcome to the team, buddy!"

Kisame gave me a weird look, "so…what other nicknames do you have…?"

I pointed at Naruto, who stood closest to me, "well, for this little guy I have Blondie, Narutard, and Foxy-Boxes. Jiraiya is Ribbit and Toad-man…though I have to say, I'm really liking Pervy-Sage right now!"

"And for Itachi…?"

"You don't want to know," Itachi grimaced, hunkering down.

I smiled, tormenting him anyway, as I threw my arms around him, "well for Tall, Dark-haired, and Handsome her, we've got Ita, Ponytail, Weasel (that's a new one), and my personal favorite, Princess Itachiah!"

At that, the other three broke out into fits of laughter. Naruto was practically rolling on the floor. Ita shot me a pitiful glare.

_*And why, exactly, did you tell them that one?* _he asked annoyed.

_*Because I love you,* _I said.

Itachi sighed as he said, "It took me a year to get her to stop calling me that last one…"

Kisame was roaring as he managed to ask through his laughter, "And where…exactly…did you get that moniker?"

"We were four!" Ita protested.

I giggled, "his cousin Saya and I were best friends. She had princess dresses in her basement that we'd use to play dress up and one time Ita came over to play with Saya's older brother, but the two fell asleep watching a movie…so…being the brats that we were, Saya and I put them in two of her dresses, got a tiara on their heads and smeared makeup all over 'em."

"It was awful…" Itachi groaned.

"It was hilarious!" I protested, I then looked back at him and asked, "Say, why don't I call you that anymore, Princess?"

"Because it's a ridiculous name! That's why!"

"Ugh, you're no fun…" I whined.

After that, we all made our way to the resort without too much trouble. We stopped in a town and traded out our dirty ninja uniforms for more touristy-looking clothes and bought a few extra accessories like swim suits and sandals and the likes. We were at a beach, and this mission would probably take a while, and not to mention we were all trying to blend in so why not make a vacation out of it?

It was sunny out and I put some sunglasses on as I wore a loose white tank-top that was a little low cut which was tucked into some jean shorts complete with a very colorful belt. We walked through the town searching for the resort. I glanced over at Ita who walked next to me, he was looking pretty handsome in his gray button-down shirt and khaki shorts. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbow and wore a skin-tight black tank undershirt. His necklace sparkled in the sun. I looked down at mine and smiled lightly.

"You're looking pretty sharp there, Ita," I said.

"Oh, so I'm not Princess anymore?" Ita responded, still annoyed. I frowned. Geez, someone had been working for the criminal underworld for a little too long.

"Oh, you still aren't mad about that, are you?" I grinned, elbowing him lightly.

Ita pouted and glared at me and spoke quietly, "Ari, it's one thing when we're in the village, but I have a reputation to keep if I want to keep people from catching on to me…and you're being a little too friendly in front of everyone."

I glared at him, "Itachi Uchiha, you of all people should know that I'm not one to stick to village ties and stereotypes. I'm a half-demon for crying out loud. I've been just as friendly with Kisame as I have been to you. Everyone here knows that we have a history together, so for god's sake loosen up! You've been hiding in a cave for far too long!"

Itachi sighed and said, "Alright, alright fine. Just…try not to embarrass me too much, okay?"

I grinned, "I make no promises, Love."

At that, Itachi flashed me a playful smile. We continued walking in front of the other three. Slowly, our hands clasped around each other.

"Ahem!" Naruto coughed behind me. Ita and I stopped, we turned to look at him.

"Can I help you?" I asked. Naruto narrowed his eyes at me.

"Can I have a word with you?" Naruto asked, then shot Ita a nasty glare, "_alooone_?"

I rolled my eyes as he grasped onto my hand and pulled me to the side. Ita, Jaws, and Jiraiya all stopped and looked at us as Naruto dragged me over.

"What are they doing?" Jiraiya asked.

Kisame chuckled, "I don't think that little boy approves of you as his sister's boyfriend, Itachi…"

"Shut up, _Jaws_."

"Like you can talk, _Princess!_"

Ita let out a groan.

I looked back at Naruto and pulled my hand away from him. I placed my hands on my hips and asked, "Naruto, what is your problem? You've been in a bad mood ever since we got here!"

"What's my problem? What's your problem?" Naruto yelled, pointing his finger in my face. I pushed his hand away.

"Now what on earth do you mean by that?" I asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Naruto shrieked quietly. He then lowered his voice and glared at Itachi before he said, "you held his hand. Twice!"

I looked back over at Ita and then back at Naruto. A small smile crept onto my face as I realized what he was talking about. I let out a laugh.

"This is nothing to laugh about, Ari!" Naruto scolded, "he is an S-ranked criminal! He killed Sasuke's family and is the reason Sasuke went with Orochimaru! He can't be trusted! I don't care if you two had a thing before or not, he's going to try to take advantage of you, Ari! And I will _not_ let you get trampled over by that creep!"

I continued to laugh and pulled Naruto in a bear hug, spinning him around. "Naruto, you are adorable!" I squealed, "but seriously, you don't need to worry about me and Ita. We're just old teammates is all, just like you and Sasuke. But I promise that there is nothing going on between us."

Okay, that was a dirty lie, but Naruto was completely misinterpreting the situation anyway.

"Nothing going on?" Naruto screeched, "Ari, you were _holding hands!_"

"Idiot!" I scolded, smacking my fist to the top of Naruto's head, "you see two people holding hands and automatically think they have a thing?"

"Well, yeah! That's what couples do!" Naruto shouted back. At this point the other three walked over to us, wanting to see what was going on. Naruto pointed at Itachi, "you guys were being romantic in the forest when that spider lady was coming after us! I saw! You were holding hands!"

I groaned and grasped hold of Naruto's hand.

_*That wasn't being romantic, Narutard. That was coming up with a strategy*_ I thought to him. At that, Naruto shrieked and let go of my hand.

"Your mouth didn't even move!" Naruto screeched.

"Of course it didn't," I explained, "I'm a psychic. When I touch someone, I can mask my chakra signature and there's, and when I hold their hand, I can open a channel between our minds. That's how Ita and I communicated to come up with that plan against the spider-demon."

Naruto's jaw dropped as he said, "Ohhh…hey, you should teach me how to do that!"

I sighed, "sorry, Naruto, I'm the only one with this kind of ability. I got it from my mother."

Naruto bounced up and down, "but if you and I did that we could—"

"Sorry again," I said, "it takes years of training to master the art of sharing your thoughts with someone. There are millions thought-processes that can run through the human mind at once, it can be difficult for the reader to decipher what you're trying to communicate. There are very few people that I use this ability with."

At that Naruto began pouting and we continued forward. Ita and I walked hand in hand, saying nothing.

_*So…just how many people do you do this trick with?*_ Ita asked me curiously.

_*Just one,*_ I answered, _*Like I said, very few people.*_

At that, Ita frowned, _*Really? No one else? Not even with me gone?*_

_*Yep. You're the only one I will ever use this with.*_

_*But why just me?*_

_*Because you're the only one who I can trust my mind with.*_

Ita shrugged and hid his smile and a blush. As we drew near to the resort, we stopped to gather our plan together.

"Okay, here's how we're going to go about this," I explained, "this mission entails a bit of espionage if we're going to get close. I'll check us in under the credit card that the village gave me for this mission and it'll be under my name. The owner's daughter is living here currently and likes getting to know the guests. She's about my age so I'm going to try to get to know her, become friends with her. We're checking in as a family. Ita, you're my boyfriend. You're traveling with us on vacation. That shouldn't be too hard to fake. Naruto, you're my little brother, again, not too hard to fake. Jiraiya, you are mine and Naruto's grandfather. We live with you and you wanted to take the whole family on this vacation. Kisame, you're our uncle…adopted. You actually do kind of remind me of one of my uncles, so that relationship is believable enough."

"Oh great," Kisame groaned sarcastically, he knew that wasn't exactly a complement, "which Bijuu am I? The drunken raccoon?"

"Actually, the hairy monkey with a bad attitude," I explained.

"Delightful…"

We walked into the lobby and were greeted by a jolly, short man with a furry gray mustache and a white bowl cut. "Welcome, welcome, to the Utsukuma Inn! The finest hotel in the Land of Ogres! I am the owner, Motokuma Hoshiyo! Do you have reservations?"

I set my bags down and pulled out my wallet, "hello, Master Hoshiyo, my name is Ariala Drake. This is my brother Naruto, my grandfather Jumba, my uncle Son Gokuu, and my fiancé…um…"

"Shisui," Ita said quickly, extending his hand. He shook it with Master Hoshiyo and said, "and yes, we do have reservations."

Master Hiyoshi let out a hearty laugh and said, "A beautiful family! Well then, let's get you checked in then!"

We followed the short man up to the front desk as he typed on the computer. I handed him my credit card and said, "the reservations are under my name."

"Ah yes, here we are! You have the delux package, very nice. You are free to stay for as long as you like, we have a spa in the adjacent building, free of charge, and breakfast is served every morning from 6 to 10. We also have private spot for guests along the beach and boat tours if you are interested. Here are your room keys. Enjoy your stay!"

He handed me three room keys and we took the elevator up to the fourth floor. I gave one room key to Jiraiya and Naruto, another to Kisame and Itachi, and took the third one for myself. The rooms were all right next to each other. I opened the door to my room and set my bags down before I plopped on the bed, leaving my door open.

Across the hall, Naruto let out a scream.

"WHAT IS THIS?"

I leapt off the bed and bolted to Naruto's room. Kisame and Itachi soon followed and we all stared in the froo froo heart-shaped bed in the middle of the cupid wallpaper and the saxophone playing on a CD player in the background.

"I think that was meant for you two…" Jiraiya eyed me and Ita.

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you," Master Hiyoshi appeared magically from behind. We all jumped, we hadn't heard him approach, "I thought the happy couple would enjoy our beautiful honeymoon suite!"

At that, Naruto spat out a laugh and pointed at the two of us. Ita and I exchanged nervous glances, our faces turning as red as the bedsheets.

"Oh, no, we couldn't possibly take this room!" I said, "please, sir, I can't imagine how expensive—"

"Nonsense!" Master Hiyoshi, "I am never one to down-size on love! This room is free of charge! Don't worry about it! Just don't tell the other guests that."

"Th-Thank…you…?" I said as Master Hiyoshi skipped down the hall.

"Oh boy…" Ita sighed heavily.

Kisame started laughing as he patted our backs, "well, you two love-birds have fun!"

"Jaws…we don't need to do this…" I groaned.

Jiraiya chimed in, "Nonsense, Ari, it's as you said! We have to keep this act up if we want to get close, don't we? Just don't have too much fun in there."

Ita and I groaned heavily. Part of me, however, was kind of excited to stay in a room with Ita. At least we could have privacy to be ourselves now, if only at night.

"Hm? Have you all just checked in?" a young woman's voice asked from behind. We turned back around to see a tall dark-haired woman in a slinky purple dress and high-heeled sandals. Our jaws all dropped in shock and I just about had a heart attack out of fear that our cover was about to be blown. This woman had been sitting unconscious on the floor of the hotel where Ita had used the Mongekyo on Sasuke. Apparently she had been used as bate to separate Jiraiya from Naruto.

"Uh…yeah! We're new here!" I said nervously, "I'm Ari and this is my brother Naruto, my grandfather Jumba, my Uncle Son Gokuu, and my fiancé Shisui!"

The woman narrowed her eyes and walked up to Itachi, "Say…you look familiar…" she got really close to Ita who gritted his teeth as he leaned away from her nervously. Oh man…here we go…we're done… "…you're a hunk!"

….

Oh great, another Izayoi.

The woman batted her eyelashes and looped her arm around Ita's, "say, you want to catch some dinner tonight? Just you and me?"

"Uhh…" Ita laughed nervously, trying to peg this woman.

"Sure! My _boyfriend _would love for you to join us. All of us. Tonight at dinner," I said through gritted teeth.

The woman pouted and said, "oh poo, all the good ones are taken. Well, Ari, you certainly have some eye candy on you. Well, how about we all go down to Rich and Charlie's tonight for dinner. My treat!"

"Sure," I said, smiling, "But…isn't that kind of expensive…?"

"Well, I get in for free, so it'll be of no cost to you," she said kindly. We all stared at her confused. The ditz then jumped and said, "oh! How rude of me! I haven't even introduced myself! My name is Kagami Hiyoshi. I'm sure you've heard of me."

At that, we all shot Itachi, who twiddled his fingers and avoided any eye contact, a nasty glare.

He had hypnotized one of the world's most famous superstar to get her to go on a date with the old hermit.


	11. Chapter 10: Karaoke Gone Wrong

Alright, I apologize...this is a bit of a crack-tastic chapter. I just used it to segue into the main plot of this arc so next chapter will be a little more relevant. And yes I may have stolen a scene from Pitch Perfect (because I WASN'T watching that movie, doing homework, and writing this chapter at the same time! XD) And sorry if the song-singing was a little cheesy...but anyway, enjoy the sad humor and epic foreshadowing!

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

I didn't care how rich or famous this Kagami chick was, she had absolutely no right to be hanging all over my man!

"So tell me, Shisui," Kagami flirted, her arm looped through his, "what brings you to the humble Land of Ogres?"

Ita leaned away from her slightly and laughed nervously. I sat on the other side of him shooting Kagami the nastiest glare I could muster.

"Oh well…just visiting is all. A vacation with my fiancé and her family," Ita choked out.

Kagami leaned her head on his shoulder, blushing wildly as she said, "my, how cute! Say…while you're here, why don't I show you around a bit? I can tell you all about this land's secrets…and some of mine if you really want to…"

"Sorry, but our schedule is really busy!" I snapped, leaning over Itachi and getting in Kagami's face.

Kagami shot me a glare, "oh come on, dear, we just want to have a little fun is all!"

"You can have all the fun you want, just don't get Shisui involved, okay, toots?" I barked, crossing my arms over my chest. Across from us, Jiraiya, Kisame, and Naruto all stared at us with wide eyes, horribly confused.

Kagami sighed heavily and batted her eyelashes at Ita, "Sweetheart, I'm sorry to say, but you're committing yourself to a stick-in-the-mud. You'll have absolutely no fun if you stick with her."

At that, Ita's nervous face fell, "Um…sorry, but if Ari's a stick in the mud then so am I so…I guess I'm just not your type. So sorry!"

"Oh, come now, Shisui! Loosen up!" Kagami giggled, throwing her arms around Ita's shoulders. I swear I felt a nerve snap somewhere inside me. At about that moment, an upbeat song started playing and people started flooding towards the floor space in the center. Rich and Charlie's was a five-star restaurant, but it doubled as a popular dance club on weekends. When she was in town, Kagami would occasionally give live performances here. Apparently. As the song came on, Kagami leapt to her feet, "Come on, Shisui! Ari! I love this song, let's dance!"

Kagami pulled Ita to his feet and he held out his hand towards me. He smiled saying, "would you like to dance?"

I shot him a jealous glare and crossed my arms, "Sorry, but I'm a stick-in-the-mud, remember? I don't do dancing."

At that Ita frowned, his feelings obviously hurt, but then Kagami nearly pulled him off his feet, dragging him to the dance floor. "Oh well, more for me!" she cheered.

When he left the table, Naruto started groaning, "Oh man…he's even more popular than Sasuke…why do those two always get the babes?"

"Naruto," I growled in a low voice, "she is not a babe…that wench is a no good, homewrecking ditz who belongs on somebody's di—"

"Okaaay! I think somebody needs to get off the jealous-train here!" Jiraiya cut me off.

"I am not jealous!" I snarled, slamming my hands on the table.

The three stared at me, not buying any of it. Kisame turned his gaze towards Jiraiya and whispered, "Definitely jealous."

"Am not!" I argued.

Naruto let out a frustrated groan, "Geez, Ari! I don't know why you're so pissed off about this! It's not like he's gonna sleep with her or anything! Nor would he sleep with you for that matter! He's psycho, remember?"

At that my blood ran cold and my eyes widened as my mind flashed back to a month before. I could have…AAAAAGH! I was such an idiot!

"I think you just broke her, Naruto," Jaws sighed heavily, he then waved his hand in front of my face, "Hello? Earth to Fox? Is anyone home in that pea-sized brain of yours?"

At that, I jumped and grasped tightly onto Kisame's wrist and let out a wild growl, "Watch it, _Jaws_ or I might just be having sharkfin stew for dinner!"

"Oh my god, you're being ridiculous! That skank has nothing on you, kiddo," Kisame scolded, "Itachi's just dancing with her because he's a nice person and you turned him down. If you have such a problem with her hanging all over him, then I suggest you stop her. You're the Demon of the Leaf, aren't you?"

At that, I remained silent, observing the two. Ita stood a little uncomfortably as Kagami and some of her groupies danced around him, flirting with him obsessively. It was amazing how much attention an Uchiha man could catch…

"You have a point, Jaws," I said, "he wouldn't do anything with one of those girls…he's just being nice. I'll let them have their fun."

"That a girl!" Kisame patted my head, smiling like an idiot. I ignored him, my eyes fixated on Ita and the growing crowd of fangirls. Kagami grabbed hold of his wrists and tried to pull him into dancing some more. At first Ita protested, but he began to sway his hips and started to have a little fun, letting the girls grasp onto him. I gritted my teeth. He was just being nice…he was just being nice…

But then Kagami did something I wasn't expecting. She pressed her back up against his front and attempted grinding on him. At first Ita stepped away, surprised, but then Kagami let out a huge laugh and threw herself on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and planting a big smooch on his lips.

"Alright, that's it!" I screamed, slamming my glass of water onto the table, breaking it. I stomped over to where Kagami and Ita were dancing. As I passed a bartender, I pulled three shot glasses off of his tray, downing gulps of tequila. I was underaged and I had never really had alcohol before, but at this point, I didn't freaking care. That bitch was going down.

By the time Ita had managed to pull Kagami off of him, he was wiping his mouth and started shouting at Kagami, "What are you doing? I have a girlfriend!"

"Oh come on, Shisui," Kagami pouted, "I was just having a little fun is all! Besides, it's not like she matters or anything…"

"She matters to _me_!"

Kagami ignored him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Don't worry about it, handsome…now come on, let's dance…"

At that point I grabbed hold of Kagami's shoulder and shoved her off of Ita. I glared at the woman, and shouted furiously, "You wanna dance? Well then let's dance, _bitch_!"

Kagami narrowed her eyes at me and said through her teeth, "I thought you didn't dance."

"Well I am now!" I roared, "and get your filthy hands off of _my boyfriend_!"

At that, Kagami and her groupies all laughed at me, "Oh please! Even if he is blind enough to date the likes of you, you're way out of your league! Why don't you find someone as rough around the edges at you, okay?"

"Hey! Watch it!" Ita scolded, glaring at Kagami as he stepped forward, but I slammed my hand in front of his chest.

"No, no, _Shi_s_ui_, Kagami's right. I might just be out of my league," I snarled, "but then again, I might not."

"Oh? You wanna prove it then?" Kagami grinned mischievously. I narrowed my eyes. If it was a fight she was looking for, it was a fight she was about to get. I didn't care if she was famous or if I was supposed to be friendly with her, no one, and I mean _no one_ could put their hands all over Itachi and get away with it. "Well, then," Kagami continued, "there is only one way to settle this!"

I cracked my knuckles, "I'd be happy to…"

"Kori! Music please!" Kagami called out to the DJ on stage, "set it to my favorite track!"

I raised an eyebrow, confused, as everyone began to circle around us, "You fight to music…?"

"Fight?" Kagami asked and then broke out into laughter, "well you said you wanted to dance, didn't you? This is how we'll settle things—the best performer overall wins."

I glared at Kagami, "well this is hardly fair. You're a professional."

"All is fair in love and war," she grinned.

Behind me, Ita gave Kagami a nasty tone in his voice as he said, "you do realize that it doesn't whether you win this or not, Kagami….I'm not leaving Ari's side for anyone."

"Oh, we'll see about that," Kagami said in a sly tone. She then gave me a devilish look. A chill ran up my spine…somehow I had a feeling that Ita would be forced to eat his words if I lost.

The song track started as the sound of a harp echoed through the club. Kagami started to sing, "Hello, hello, baby, you called? I can't hear a thing. I have got no service in the club you see, you see…"

I took in a deep breath as I walked up to Kagami. Dancing, I could do. But singing? Well, I hadn't taken my voice anywhere outside the shower. I picked up the lyrics, "Wha-What did you say? Are you breaking up on me? Sorry, I cannot hear you, I'm kinda busy."

"K-kinda busy."

"K-kinda busy!"

"Sorry, I cannot hear you—"

"I'm kinda busy!"

As we sang, Kagami threw her heels off and began to hip-hop dance and she popped a squat in her skimpy purple dress. "Stop calling, stop calling, I don't wanna think anymore!"

"I left my head and my heart on the dance floor!" I sang as I did several turns on point. I brought my leg up and caught it in front of my face before I fell into the splits. As I took over the song, I noticed that I was catching the crowd's attention. I knew I could stay in tune but, hey! I think they liked me!

I took the opportunity to show off some of my dancing ability as I sang and got in Kagami's face, "Not that I don't like you, I'm just at a party. And I am sick and tired of my phone r-ringing! Sometimes I feel like I live in Grand Central Station. Tonight I'm not takin' no calls, 'cause I'll be dancin'!"

Kagami pushed me out of her face and took over the chorus as she belted out, "'cause I'll be dancin'! I'll be dancin'! Stop calling, stop calling, I don't want to think any more! I left my head and my heart on the dance floor!"

Kagami continued to sing, making her sad attempts at modern dance. She could bust a move, but she had no technique. Somehow, I managed to take over this competition. Aggravated at this, Kagami leapt onto the stage and found a pole conveniently placed in the back. The crowd all followed her as she began pole-dancing (of course!). All the men started cheering and hollering. Okay…so she had some talent somewhere. But Kagami knew that she could get them with this move.

I took back the second part of the chorus, standing still and allowed Kagami to dance more as I sang, "Stop, calling, stop calling, I don't want to think anymore! I left my head and my heart on the dance floor! Stop calling, stop calling, I don't want to talk anymore! I left my head and my heart on the dance floor!"

Kagami glared at me but stopped dancing to take a breather and continued to sing, "Call all you want, but theres no one home and you're not gonna reach my telephone! 'Cause I'm out in the club and I'm sippin' that bubb aAnd you're not gonna reach my telephone!"

While she sang, I motioned for everyone to back clear a path on the stage. I spotted a clean row of tables going down a straight line for me to the right of the stage. I maneuvered my way over to the row as I danced to Kagami's music. I then took a brief pause to settle myself as I used to do in floor routines. The ceiling looked high enough for one of my signature moves. I broke out into a short sprint, taking a few steps as I cartwheeled into a single back-hand spring as I landed on my hands on the first table, then continued down the row, catching air as I popped into a high corkscrew, my body staying as straight as a pencil as it spun and twisted in the air. I landed on the middle table on both feet. The table shook as my knees bent and attempted to hold the landed. When I regained my balance, knowing I stuck it, I instinctively raised my hands into the air to salute. The crowd went crazy, leaping into the air. I had a huge smile on my face as I looked over to see Kagami speechless at the front of the stage. She continued singing as she hopped back onto the floor and attempted a cartwheel but was out of breath and fell.

I quickly took over, finishing the song as I walked up to her, "Call all you want, but theres no one home and you're not gonna reach my telephone! 'Cause I'm out in the club and I'm sippin' that bubb aAnd you're not gonna reach my telephone!"

The music ended and I stood over Kagami who glared up at me with slightly crazed eyes. Everyone circled around us cheering loudly.

"Well, I think I know who won this round," I grinned maniacally.

"How did you…?" Kagami asked, out of breath, "you aren't even tired?"

"I'm a gymnast," I explained, "I'm used to hours of relentless training. And I've had plenty of practice singing in the shower too."

"Ari, that was incredible!" Naruto hopped around, giving me a big bear hug.

"Thanks, Naruto!" I smiled back.

Kagami let out a frustrated grunt as she leapt to her feet, "Agh! You're just some mediocre nobody! You don't deserve to win!"

"And you didn't deserve to share a kiss with my boyfriend, so I guess we're even," I snapped back. And as if on cue, Ita snuck up behind me and put his hand around my waist, pulling me close.

"That was amazing!" Ita said, "I knew you had it in you, but wow!"

"Oh, it was nothing," I lied. Actually, that whole fiasco was incredibly embarrassing and took throwing away almost all my pride to stand up and sing in front of people.

"Ugh! You are _so_ out of his league! I am Kagami Hoshiyo! There isn't a man alive who could resist my charm!" she whined.

"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything," Ita said politely, "my apologies, Kagami, but I fell for Ari's charm long before I met you."

"You don't even know what a high class woman is!" Kagami scoffed.

"I don't need high class," Ita retorted before pulling me into a long passionate kiss. The house roared with cheers as we made out. Kagami let out a frustrated scream and I made things worse by giving her the finger, still kissing Ita.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Kagami screamed as she stomped out of the club. A few long moments after that, Ita and I finally broke our kiss, our arms around each other. We both broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Okay, she's gone now, show's over!" Naruto scolded, averting his eyes from us.

"Oh, calm, down, Naruto!" I teased, breaking from my embrace with Ita, I shoved the little boy to the side. Later in the evening, we all decided to call it a day and headed back up to her rooms. I grimaced at the froo froo honeymoon suite as we stepped back inside. It was so…pink…

I unzipped my backpack and began pulling out clothes. Since this mission was partially a mini-vacation, I had actually packed like a tourist for once, and even included an actual toiletry bag and not the little hygiene survival pack that ANBU gives you when you first join to avoid you from smelling too terrible when you come back from missions. And of course, knowing that I was going to a beachside resort where it was hot and humid, and making the mistake of thinking I would actually have a room to myself, I packed only my skimpy pajamas.

"What's that?" Ita asked, eyeing my sheer yellow nightgown. I groaned.

"I thought I would have a room to myself so…I packed a little lighter…" I moaned, "and sheerer…"

Ita chuckled as I blushed, "relax, Ari, it's not like I haven't seen you half-naked before."

I shrugged. He did have a point. I began to pull my top off to change into my nightgown and Ita jumped.

"Ari! What are you doing?" Ita asked, landing on the foot of the bed.

I rolled my eyes as I took my shorts off and mimicked him, "oh relax, Ita. It's not like you haven't seen me half-naked before."

Ita sighed heavily and took his shirt off, lying down on his back, and took in a deep breath.

"You know, if we weren't on missions right now, I might actually be enjoying myself a little more," he groaned.

I laughed and sat down on the bed next to Ita. "What? You didn't have fun with all those beautiful women frocking around you?" I joked.

Ita rolled his eyes, "Not really…although I did enjoy you showing up Kagami completely. Ugh…I am so sorry about that, Ari. I really don't know what to do when girls come onto my like that. It's just…don't they have their own lives? Come on! But it's not like I can be rude…"

"Oh, Ita," I whispered softly, lying on my side. I gazed at his beautiful features, brushing his hair out of his face, "I'm surprised you say that, considering how handsome you are. You should have known that it's every Uchiha man's curse to be a lady's man, whether you like it or not."

"I am no lady's man," Ita chuckled, "Shisui, on the other hand, he was a lady's man!"

"And who are you pretending to be now?" I joked, referring to the disguise he had taken on. Ita sat up on his side and gave me a curious look. He then rolled onto his stomach, lying on top of me.

"Right now," he said in a low and sexy voice, "right now I am not pretending to be anybody. All I wish to be is the man you know me to be. The true Itachi Uchiha, the one that only you are able to see. Right now I am nothing, but a loyal man who wants nothing more than to have the love of his life all to himself because he is a greedy," Ita kissed my lips then lifted up, as I giggled, "no good…" he drifted down to my neck, "pervert…" he licked my collar bone lightly before he breathed, "who wants to take absolutely everything from you."

I spat out a laugh, "Yeah, right! A pervert? Ita, you're joking!"

At that, Itachi popped up, sitting on top of me as he grinned, "yeah I am!" He then scooped me into his arms and lied me down closer to the head of the bed so we were more comfortable. We exchanged a gentle kiss as his hand gently slid one of my bra straps down. I unzipped his pants and he pushed them off. He broke the kiss, "though if you don't mind…we could try…a little more…"

I gave Ita a playful smirk as I pressed my lips against his. We fooled around for a bit, finally we took off all boundaries that had once separated our bodies. Ita whispered my name as he panted, pressing himself against me. This was it…I could finally…I could do it…

I closed my eyes and relaxed. I felt safe in his embrace. I felt so at peace in our tangled up love affair. I could finally give myself to him.

This time, however, it was Ita's body that kept us from going all the way. Just as he was about to do the deed, he broke from our kiss suddenly, his back arching in a spasm as he suddenly began to cough uncontrollably. He sat up in several jerky movements, one hand over his mouth as he coughed, another clenching his chest tightly.

"Ita…?" I asked, alarmed. I placed my hand on his back and rubbed it, trying to sooth his coughs. But they got worse, and as he heaved and hacked, it sounded almost as if he were suffocating or trying to vomit or both.

"My…! Chest…!" Ita cried out between coughs. He suddenly lost his balance and fell of the bed, crumpling to the ground as he gave on last final, and incredibly loud hacking noise that sounded like he had coughed something up.

"Ita!" I cried, kneeling down beside him. Ita still covered his mouth, wincing. He motioned for me to keep my distance. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and panted, "Sorry…I don't know what that was…" He lifted his hand off his mouth carefully but kept his hand balled into a fist. I eyed that hand suspiciously. Did he vomit? The other hand, Ita held over his chest as he fought to catch his breath.

"Maybe we should just call it a night…" I offered, "I don't want you hurting yourself if you're going to do that again…"Itachi shook his head in frustration.

"Man…there's always something," he said. I rubbed his back lightly and pulled his hair behind his ear.

"Don't worry about it," I said, "we'll get there. And besides, you have fantastic abs."

At that Ita began to laugh but suddenly started coughing again. I jumped and hovered my hands over him, unsure how to help, but this coughing fit only lasted a few minutes.

"It feels like…my chest is on fire…" Ita complained, grimacing. He cleared his throat, still keeping that one hand balled into a fist. Alarms started sounding off in my head. That couldn't be good.

"Do we need to take you to a doctor…?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine!" Ita assured, "this hasn't happened before, I'm probably just getting sick or something."

"Ita…" I eyed him, "has this really never happened before?"

Ita looked away from me, "Hm...I mean…once, I guess…right after that fight with Sasuke. I started coughing a lot after I had to use Amaterasu to break out of Jiraiya's jutsu but…that was probably unrelated wasn't it?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "You need a doctor."

"No, Ari! I'm fine! And where am I going to get a doctor anyway?" he asked. He had a point there. I sighed heavily.

"Alright, alright, fine," I said, "just promise me you'll let me know if this gets any worse, okay?"

Ita nodded, "okay."

I crawled back in bed, neither of us bothering to put our clothes back on. Ita went into the bathroom to wash his hands. He came back out and crawled up next to me, a big grin on his face.

I giggled, "what?"

"You are so beautiful," he said. I chuckled and shook my head.

"Try telling other girls that," I scoffed.

Ita kiss my lips gently. "Don't listen to them…they're just jealous they aren't as amazing as you are."

I sighed happily and smiled as I buried my face into Ita's bare chest. Even if we didn't go all the way, I was in my own slice of heaven. Just holding him close, with no physical or emotional barriers to separate us was enough. I brushed Ita's coughing fit out of my mind and dismissed it as nothing more than a bout of fatigue. Itachi was a strong and healthy man. Nothing too serious could be wrong, right?

And ignorant me, I had absolutely no clue as to how wrong I was.

* * *

**Itachi**

He couldn't sleep that night. He was thrilled to be lying this close to Ari. He felt so at peace as he watched her sleep, her beautiful porcelain face relaxed and dreamed of only pleasant thoughts. But the pain in his chest kept coming and going. Itachi worried as to what this could mean, in more ways than one. He grew frustrated, having to keep from gazing at Ari for too long because if he began to overheat even in the slightest, his chest would start burning and would ignite another coughing fit.

But these pains would only be temporary. He didn't care about those. What really kept him up was trying to find a way to tell Ari what was really going on. And he felt incredibly guilty as Ari hadn't even picked up on his lies yet. He was getting too good at hiding the truth.

Itachi sighed and thought back to his childhood when he and Sasuke had both spent several scary weeks running back and forth from the hospital. His uncle, Itachi's father's brother, and Shisui's and Saya's dad, died suddenly of heart failure. It was soon discovered that his early death was caused by a malformed heart valve triggered from a genetic disorder that ran in the Uchiha bloodline. The disorder was a recessive trait, so it occurred in very few individuals. However, knowing that Itachi's uncle had this gene, meant that Fugaku, Sasuke, Itachi, Saya, and Shisui could all test positive for having this same disorder.

Several tests were run, and the family sighed in relief when the kids all tested negative, holding the dominant allele which kept the killer at bay.

But Itachi didn't end up so lucky.

This discovery came just after Ari and Saya had graduated from the academy. Wanting to keep spirits from falling too low, Itachi never told Saya or Ari about his condition. Sasuke never found out either, as Itachi asked his parents to not worry Sasuke over a treatable condition. There were three options to approaching the situation, depending on what stage of development the disease was in, Itachi was lucky and didn't show any signs of his affected heart valve ballooning out, so he was placed on a cocktail of medications to keep the disease from progressing. If his condition did worsen, Itachi would have to have corrective surgery and have that valve replaced. But if left untreated, and Itachi started showing signs of heart-failure, it meant that the failed valve was causing problems for the rest of the heart, creating irregular heartbeats, inefficiency, and other disastrous problems. At that point, Itachi would require either a heart transplant or would have to accept death's cold embrace.

But Itachi remained healthy and had no troubles as long as he took his medications. And he had lucked out living in a wealthy country such as Konoha, which could easily afford for his healthcare. However, when the Uchiha's revolt began, and Itachi was forced to take matters into his own hands, any and all access to proper medical attention for his condition ceased to exist.

His meds were expensive, and were not available anywhere outside the five great nations. For the first few years, Itachi hadn't noticed any signs of his heart failing. But recently he did begin to notice his stamina steadily decreasing with every battle.

And when he felt something warm bubble out of his throat at the end of his coughing fit, Itachi knew something was wrong. He didn't want to alarm Ari, she had suffered enough pain because of him already. He easily brushed off the incident and went to use the bathroom. Ari hadn't even taken notice of Itachi's fib.

As he looked in the mirror, his face a ghostly pale, and opened his palm to reveal the puddle of crimson sitting in his hand, Itachi could only feel a flood of guilt overwhelm him.

He had gotten way too good at lying.

* * *

**Ari**

The next morning, I awoke in Ita's arms. I stretched lightly and looked up to find him smiling down on me.

"Morning, Sunshine," he said softly.

I smiled and sat up, stretching, "Good morning, to you too. What time is it?"

"About eight or so. I was thinking of running down to the market place and pick up a few things, do you need anything?" Ita asked, getting out of bed and changing into some clothes.

"Let's get some breakfast first, I'm starving!" I said.

"Alright," Ita replied. I threw on a t-shirt and some track-shorts. I figured I could shower and doll myself up while Ita was gone. I went to look in the mirror and was horrified at the tangled rat's nest my hair was in.

"Oh great…" I spat, grabbing hold of a brush and furiously trying to brush through my hair. The main only got poofier and the brush couldn't break through most parts. "This damn humidity! Ita…do you think you could pick up some detangler while you're out? My hair is disgusting…"

"I think it looks fine," Ita said, but then noted, "though I am curious how you get it to stick out like that…but sure, what does detangler look like?"

"It should be in a shampoo bottle with 'detangling formula' labeled on it," I said. Giving up, I tied the nappy mess into a high bun and we walked down stairs. We were greeted by Jiraiya and Kisame who were already sitting at a table. We helped ourselves to the buffet and sat down with them.

"So…how was it, you two?" Kisame grinned, "did you guys sleep at all or did you just…'sleep'?"

I blushed a deep red and glared at Jaws and Ita groaned saying, "We slept fine, Kisame. And that's none of your business!"

At that, Jiraiya let out a billowing laugh, "You two can relax, you know! The four of us all know what's really going on and Naruto is still upstairs sleeping like a baby. So don't worry!"

Ita and I both let out heavy sighs, blushing. I looked up and noticed Kagami walk past and shoot us a nasty glare before taking a seat at a table across the room with her father, Master Hoshiyo. The two seemed to be speaking seriously about something, and Kagami's gaze flashed towards me several times. I gulped hard, nervous about what had happened the night before. I had forgotten all about the actual mission at hand and the fact that the Hoshiyo's were the two people who couldn't turn their noses up at us on this mission.

"Something wrong?" Ita asked.

I shook my head, "the home-wrecker still looks mad…"

"Oh well, she'll get over it. And we have other means of finding out what's really going on here," Itachi said. I nodded. He must've been thinking the same thing I was.

But little did I know that the tables were about to turn in my favor…just in a really awkward way.

* * *

**Kagami**

"Daddy, I want them all thrown out!" she hissed angrily. "I don't deserve to be treated this way!"

"Kagami, sweetie, I would if I could!" Daddy pleaded, "but they are paying guests and right now we can't afford to lose any more revenue! Besides, don't you think it was a little rude to get in between two people who are engaged to be married?"

Kagami rolled her eyes, "Daddy, don't tell me who I can and can't get with. Shisui is a hunk and he liked it, I'm sure! But really…what makes that street urchin so much better than me, anyway?"

"N-nothing, sweetheart!" Master Hoshiyo assured his daughter nervously, "there is no one in the world who could possibly surpass your beauty or talent! That Shisui boy just has poor taste in women, is all!"

Kagami looked back and glared at the messy-haired freakshow. She was pretty, and had a nice body, but she was so unkept. It was like she didn't even care about beauty at all! But she did have a charm to her…the way she smiled, the way hers and Shisui's faces lit up when they were around each other.

"She isn't the prettiest…but she's happier than me…" Kagami thought to herself, "why is that…?" she grimaced. She wanted that happiness. She needed to get it from Ari somehow…but how?

"Well, one thing is for certain, my buttercup, people have been buzzing about the duet you and that Ari girl did together last night! It was a hit! I don't think I've heard people talking about your performances like that in over a year! It's simply thrilling!" Master Hoshiyo went on another rant, slightly obsessed with his daughter's popularity.

At that, Kagami got an idea.

* * *

**Ari**

After breakfast, Ita ran out to the store to pick up groceries and I ran upstairs to take a shower. To my dismay, I couldn't even run my regular shampoo through my hair, it was such a mess and was so humid out. I sighed and washed my body, singing quietly to myself as I awaited Ita's return.

The bathroom door opened and I heard who I assumed was Itachi walk in.

"Ita? Did you get that detangler I asked for?" I asked as he maneuvered around the bathroom. I heard shuffling of objects, but Ita ignored me. "Ita?" I asked again, "Where is that detangler? Ugh…it's too humid out here."

Suddenly, the shower curtain was pulled open and I screamed, slamming into the wall behind me. Kagami Hoshiyo stood in front of me butt naked with a wild grin on her face.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I shrieked.

"You are a really good singer!" Kagami stated, "you're going to sing with me at Rich and Charlie's tomorrow night."

"What? No! I'm not a singer! G-Get out! And why are you naked?" I yelped, covering my chest with my arms. Kagami sighed and opened the curtain all the way, stepping into the shower with me.

"I'm not leaving until you agree to sing with me," she said, taking a step closer to me.

"I'm not singing with you," I stated, "This is so awkward! How did you get in here, anyway?"

"My dad owns this place. Duh," she said, "now you will sing with me or I'm not leaving. And I know how to make things awkward. Trust me, I've done some crazy things before."

"I'm sure you have!" I said, "Now, go!"

"No."

At that moment Itachi walked into the bathroom holding grocery bags. Without looking up he pulled out a shampoo bottle and said, "Ari, I found what you were talking about—" Ita then looked up to see two naked girls in the bathroom as he yelped and fell backwards, screaming at Kagami, "WOAH! WHY ARE YOU NAKED?"

"You know you like it," Kagami teased.

My temper flared and I pushed Kagami out of the shower, throwing her a towel, "Get! Out!"

"Not unless you sing with me tomorrow night! Come on! It's supposed to be a big crowd! And my agent will be there…he could sign you a record deal…" Kagami bribed. I shook my head furiously.

"Not interested!" I protested.

"Wait," Ita lifted his hand, "Ari, this could be your chance. You are a fantastic singer, you know…"

"Oh, not you too!" I glared at him, "Ita! I have no interest in-!" I paused and noticed the look Ita was giving me and then turned back to Kagami. My big chance wasn't a record deal. It was getting to know Kagami. I sighed, defeated, "fine. Now will you get out?"

Kagami jumped and let out a squeal, throwing her clothes back on, "Oh goodie! I'll see you tomorrow morning bright and early so we can rehearse! I can't wait!"

And with that, she was gone, making that moment the most awkward situation of my life that I hope I never _ever_ have to relive again. I would give up sleeping with Itachi if it meant I never had to go through that in the first place. Well…maybe I wouldn't give up _that_, but it was a really bad experience that day with Kagami, let me tell you.

The next morning, I met Kagami at Rich and Charlie's and she was sitting on a stool on stage, messing with a guitar. She groaned and looked up, "can you play?"

I shrugged, "yeah. Kind of."

"Okay, good," she said, handing it to me as I walked on stage, "so what do you want to sing first?"

I pursed my lips, "well, I thought I would just sing whatever you wanted. You are the professional."

"Nonsense!" she said, "this is your debut night, you are the star! Besides…I don't have any original songs for a duet. Have you ever written anything?"

"Well…" I blushed, "there was this one poem I wrote when I was little…I sometimes sing that as a song but…it's not very good."

"Well, just sing me the chorus!" I rolled my eyes and went over to a piano as I sang, "Everytime we touch, I get this feeling. Everytime we touch, I swear I can fly…can't you hear my heart beat fast, I want this to last. Need you by my side…"

"That's really pretty," Kagami said, "did Shisui inspire you to write that?"

I nodded, "kind of. We were going through a…rough patch in our relationship and there was a point where I thought I was going to lose him. I saw a quote somewhere and decided to make a song out of it."

"We're singing that," Kagami said. We rehearsed all day and as night came, the club filled with people.

"Good evening, everybody!" Kagami called out as the crowd cheered, "Tonight I'm starting things out a little different. Any and all couples may come forward for a slow dance as this is a ballad. I'll be singing this song with my new best friend, Ariala Drake. I'm sure you guys remember her! Ari?"

Kagami held out the microphone to me as I stepped forward, my heart pounding out of my chest. Those were a lot of people…

"Um…hi…" I muttered. The club erupted in roars and cheers, most of the people recognizing my stunt from the other night. "This song…well…it was a poem I wrote a while back for…a really close friend." I made eye contact with Ita who drew in a breath before I sat down at the piano. Kagami and I both sang our hearts out in this song, and that was the quietest Rich and Charlie's had ever been at one of Kagami's concerts. When we finished, I broke out into a cold sweat. You could hear a pin drop. As I looked back up, though, the club broke out into a standing ovation, and I noticed some people up front even wiping tears out of their eyes. Was it that good…? Or was it that bad…? I couldn't tell, but Kagami stood and bowed, before she took my hand and brought me forward.

"Give another round of applause to Ari!" she cheered as everyone began roaring again. I was stunned. This was…new… "Thank you dear, I hope we get to see much more of you in the near future. And now, who's ready to party?"

I walked over to where my friends sat in a daze. Several people applauded me as I walked passed, but I hardly paid any attention. Ita stood as I got to the table.

"Um…that was…great," Ita stammered, at a loss for words. I nodded, still shaking. Did that really just happen? We both averted eye contact. He knew I wrote that song about him. Parts of the song made me tear up as it brought back hurtful memories, but really, that whole song was one big love confession. Even though we were together, the thought of what I had just done still made me feel a need to hurl. It was like we were falling in love all over again.

I sat down and Naruto stared at me with sparkling eyes, "Wow, Ari…your voice is so pretty!"

I smiled at him, "Aww, thanks, Naruto!"

"Man, Itachi, you sure are a lucky man!" Jiraiya laughed, patting Ita on the shoulder.

Itachi chuckled and took my hand underneath the table, _*I really am…*_

I glanced over at Itachi, _*So you like it?*_

_*I loved it. Is there anything you can't do?*_

_*There's a lot of things I can't do…but with flattery like this, I might just have to sing to you more often.*_

Ita smiled, _*I wouldn't mind that at all…*_

* * *

**Kagami**

After the concert, she met Ari and the two giggled and squealed over how well it went. Ari was an instant hit with the audience and gladly accepted Kagami's offer to sing more. Over the next several days, the two got to know each other better. You could even call them friends kind of.

Good, that's just what Kagami needed. Pretty soon, Kagami would have Ari right where she wanted her. And then, that street urchin—and Shisui—would be all hers for the taking.


	12. Chapter 11: Until Death Do Us Part

Hi guys! So this is a short, but intense chapter! And I can't thank you enough for all of the kind reviews that I've been getting! I feel so blessed to have such loyal readers who have given me such kind and very funny responses to my chapters! I really appreciate it! :D Well, anyway,

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

As the days passed, I couldn't help but notice how clingy Kagami could be. At first it wasn't too bad…it was kind of nice to have a girl to hang around for once. But it didn't take long for the constant squeals, the lung-crushing hugs, and the high-pitched "_hay best friend!_" to get old.

"Oh my gosh, you will not believe what this girl in room 452 wore last night! It was absolutely atrocious!" Kagami rambled on and on and on about this and that as I just nodded my head and pretended to listen. Gossip was like a drug. It was so bad for you, and most people hated it, but once you got latched onto it, you couldn't pull away, only yearned for more and more. If Kagami was the gossip world's equivalent to a drug addict, you could compare me to the intervention specialist. After years of putting up with Izayoi and her clowns, I got really good of dispelling rumors fast. This time however, I didn't intend to shut Kagami up, I figured eventually she'd spill some piece of valuable information.

But after three days of pointless chatter, I decided to speed things up by poking around in her personal life. "Say, Kagami," I began as we got ready for rehearsal one day, "what got you into the music business anyway?"

At that, Kagami stiffened, her cheerful demeanor changed suddenly. She turned around and raised an eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you seem to be really into this kind of stuff," I explained, "and you're a natural on stage. I was just curious…"

At that Kagami giggled, "Are you crazy, Ari? I hate the industry!"

"What?" that surprised me.

Kagami looked down, her eyes seeing something in her mind that otherwise didn't exist, "my mom is a famous movie actress. She does most of her work in the Land of Grass…but she loved the industry more than she loved her family. And Daddy, well, he's an ambitious man and I had loved singing from a very young age, he thought I could make a name for myself just like my mother…his idea worked and I've been a popstar ever since…"

I rocked back and forth in my stool, unsure how to approach this, "but your fans love you, your incredibly popular…and you are absolutely gorgeous, and you seem like you have a lot of fun…so what happened?"

"It all just seems so fake," Kagami explained, "sure, I have fans. And sure there are a lot of people who hang around me…but this world is so cruel, they'll toss you to the street as soon as they find something else to waste their time with. You're just an object for this world's own exploitation…even though I'm surrounded by people every day, I, I just feel so lonely…"

"Yeah, I know the feeling…" I muttered, pursing my lips.

Kagami looked back at me with wild eyes, "you do? How?"

"Well, my parents died when I was really little," I explained, "And things didn't get too much better after that. I was born and raised in the Land of Fire and the ways of a shinobi and war just about consumes your life. I was always a little different from everyone else…I mean, you must notice by now that I'm not your stereotypical girl. I was never into the dresses or the ribbons, or the boys…I just wanted to be myself and live life the way I wanted. No ninja, no clans, no wars. But you can't survive in a dog-eat-dog world with that kind of attitude. You have to pretend to be someone you're not…I absolutely hate it. I think the only two people in this world who know the real Ariala Drake are Naruto and It-I mean, Shisui…but even then, there are some secrets that Naruto is still too young to know."

"But you seem so happy," Kagami said, turning the interrogation on me, "your face just lights up when you're with Shisui. And he seems infatuated with you. You don't look lonely."

I smiled and said, "well, when I'm with Shisui, I don't feel alone anymore. He had a pretty lonely life too…I think we just make each other whole. And you're right, I am happy. My childhood was incredibly lonely, but when I looked around and realized how many people surrounded me that cared about me—especially Shisui—everything just kind of fell into place."

"And how did you get that happiness?" Kagami asked, "No offense, but you aren't the prettiest girl in the world. You have a lot of potential, but you hardly make any effort to beautify yourself."

"Because vanity isn't happiness," I explained, "sure, walking around with a new haircut, or a few compliments from men here and there is a nice confidence booster, but it's not happiness. I'm happy with Shisui because he can look at me on the good and the bad days and say 'damn, she's beautiful' and I know he means it. I don't want to pretend to be someone I'm not just to attract attention to myself. If people can't see the beauty in the real Ari, then they aren't even worth my time."

"So for you, beauty isn't happiness," Kagami said, "it's love. And it's your love for Shisui that aids that happiness."

I nodded my head, smiling, "that's exactly it. Kagami, you don't have to be the prettiest or the most popular to be happy. You're right, it can be lonely at the top and sometimes that adoration people have for you is fake. All it takes is one person. One person to see you for the beauty that's inside, who can love you for the good and the bad, and then a whole new world opens up to you. The first step to that is to just be yourself."

At that, Kagami looked down at the floor, a large—and surprisingly dark—smile crept across her face. A shiver ran up my spine as I watched her, her aura changing slightly. She then looked up at me and said, "thank you, Ari. I will keep that in mind."

Soon after that, we began rehearsing. A few hours later, Itachi came in bringing lunch for the both of us, "Hey, I thought you guys might be hungry."

Kagami glanced up and let out a squeal, "Heeey Shisui!"

I groaned on the inside. After all I had done, I still couldn't shake her off of Ita. Itachi stepped onto the stage as she jumped on him and gave him a big hug. At first Ita gave Kagami a polite smile, but suddenly I noticed his body stiffen and he glanced down at the floor, his sharingan activated. His smile returned and he politely pushed her off of him as always, then he went over to take my hand and planted a small kiss on the cheek. His hand squeezed mine tightly. He found something.

_*What is it?*_

_*Get out of here. Now.*_ Ita looked up at Kagami and said, "I hate to disturb you two, but do you mind if I steal Ari for the rest of the day? I feel like I've hardly seen her and I was hoping to surprise her with something."

Kagami nodded, still smiling, "Of course! You two have fun now!"

At that, Ita swiftly lead me out of the restaurant. When we were outside he broke out into a sprint, passing the hotel, running through the town. Finally I brought myself to a halt and pulled my hand out of his, "Ita! What has gotten into you?"

Ita, completely out of breath, pitched forward and put his hands on his knees. That was odd. He shouldn't be this out of breath…

Pushing his fatigue down, Ita turned to me and grasped hold of his shoulders, "have you noticed anything weird about Kagami lately?"

I shook my head at first, but then thought back to our earlier conversation, "Well…we did have a heart-to-heart a couple hours ago…she was talking a lot about happiness and beauty…she was a little bit creepy towards the end of that but…Ita, what did you see?"

"I saw…" still out of breath, Ita held his hand up and turned away to cough. I raised an eyebrow and held my breath. Between coughs, Ita managed to say, "I saw chakra coming…from the trap door…and Kagami…she had two chakra signatures in her…!" Itachi's coughs got progressively more and more violent as he pitched forward.

"Ita! Oh my gosh, are you okay?" I asked, placing my hands on his shoulders.

"AGH!" Ita yelped as he leaned back, clutching his chest. He screamed out before he jerked forward and coughed up a massive amount of blood as he fell to his knees.

"ITACHI!" I screamed. Itachi collapsed on the ground and rolled over on his back, holding his chest as he lost consciousness. I looked up to see some bystanders running towards us in a panic. I cried out for help, "Call and ambulance! SOMEONE! PLEASE!"

My heart raced as I cradled Itachi in my arms as a kind stranger pulled out his cell phone and called for help. In moments, Itachi was rushed to the hospital. I followed him on the stretcher for as long as I could, holding his hand the entire time. But as they took Ita through large double doors of what could quite possibly be converted into an Operating Room, two nurses came to hold me back, telling me I could go no further.

"No…I'm a medical ninja! I can help…!" I begged, but the nurses reassured me that Ita would be alright as they took him away from me. My hand slid out of his and I stepped forward as our fingers were released from each other. "Ita, you'll be alright! I'll be right here when you come back! You'll be okay…!" Tears began to stream down my face as I fell to my knees, crying. I didn't know what had just happened or what they were going to do to Itachi. I rocked myself back and forth as I held myself crying, praying that Ita would be okay.

And that incident was only the prologue of the turmoil that would test our love, slowly stretching our limits as Itachi's life came to a painful close.

* * *

**Itachi**

He woke up to the sound of soft beeping noises. His chest still burned, and his whole body felt like lead. He tried to sit up but immediately fell back to his back, realizing that he was strapped to several machines. Where was he?"

"You're really lucky, Mr. Drake," a man's voice said. Itachi looked up to see a doctor with a clipboard, "you gave your poor wife quite a scare."

"My…wife…?" Itachi muttered. Did the doctor mean Ari? Ita shook his head, gradually becoming more and more aware of what was going on, "what happened?"

"You collapsed," the doctor explained, "For whatever reason, you went into Cardiac Arrest. Now, Mrs. Drake didn't seem to think you had any history of heart problems, but the tests that we did indicated that you have a deformed heart valve."

"I was born with a defective heart," Itachi explained, "apparently this is some genetic disease that worsens as I get older. I have an uncle who died from this a few years back."

The doctor raised an eyebrow, alarmed, "Mr. Drake, may I call you Shisui?"

"Sure."

"Shisui, this is a serious issue. If left untreated, you will—"

"I know, sir," Itachi said, "I was put on medications at a young age to keep the disease from spreading, but in recent years, my family ran into severe economic trouble. We were no longer able to afford my medicine, so I've just lived with this condition. I've accepted all the possibilities."

The doctor eyed Itachi suspiciously, "That makes sense. The Land of Grass has been very unstable since the Third Great Ninja War, though it is still much better off than the Rain Village. But tell me, why doesn't Mrs. Drake know about this?"

Itachi sighed heavily, "well, my medications ran out before I met her. I was relatively healthy for several years, but I guess now this killer is finally catching up with me."

"The doctor frowned, "well, I hate to tell you, Shisui, but your options aren't too good. Your valve has stretched out completely, and though it doesn't show signs of stretching further and bursting, it's deforming the overall shape of your heart, and causing severe strain on it. Right now, you could get away with having a corrective surgery to replace the valve. However, I'm afraid that that type of procedure is extremely complicated and is beyond our resources here to perform. The only person in the world who is able to do this procedure successfully is the fifth Hokage Tsunade. We could fly you there if you wish to have this surgery."

Itachi shook his head, "There is no way that I will be able to afford that."

The doctor's face looked grim, "that's what I feared. It doesn't look like your insurance company will cover that operation either. The only surgery it will cover right now is a heart transplant. We can do that here, but I'm afraid that even though you never noticed a change, years of living with your condition has wreaked havoc on your body. You will not survive a transplant the way you are now."

At that, Itachi's spirits fell. He always had a feeling that after he fled the village, this disease would be the one to kill him. He had resolved to dying at Sasuke's hands and giving his little brother the Mongekyo Sharingan with his death, and with his eyes, give Sasuke the Eternal Mongekyo. Itachi's sight was already starting to go anyway.

"How much longer do I have?" he asked in a low voice.

The doctor sighed heavily, "Left alone, I'd say about six months. However, we can prescribe you some medications that will slow the progression of your condition and ease the symptoms for a time. Your insurance will cover that and it could give you another two to three years. It's your choice."

"I'll take the meds," Itachi said quickly, his mind already made up, "Now tell me…does Ari know about all of this yet?"

The doctor shook his head, "I was just on my way to speak with her when you woke up."

"Don't say anything to her then," Itachi ordered, clenching his fists, "please, just allow us some time alone so I can talk to her. She needs to hear this from me."

The doctor nodded and said, "of course."

He left the room and a few moments later, Ari stepped inside. She wore a hardened expression, her eyes fixed forward and her lips pursed in a straight line. Ita's heart sank, based on her bloodshot eyes, he knew that Ari had been crying, but she held it together as she walked in. She sat on the bed beside Itachi, her hands clenched tightly into fists, her shoulders shaking.

Itachi gave Ari a warm smile and he said, "Hi."

"Hi," Ari replied in a low voice. She glared at Itachi slightly, but Itachi had a feeling that she wasn't glaring at him. She was only trying to keep from crying.

He took Ari's hands in his and sighed heavily, "I'm sorry to worry you."

At that, Ari lost all composure. She closed her eyes tightly and threw her arms around Itachi's neck, whimpering, "What the hell was that?"

They held each other for a long moment as Ari cried. Itachi shook in her arms, trying to think of a way to tell Ari a secret he had been keeping from her for a long time. A secret that, in Ari's mind, was probably way bigger than the Uchiha's coup d'état.

"I'm sorry," Itachi whispered in Ari's ear, "but I'll be okay for now."

Ari then pulled out of their embrace and wiped her eyes. She sniffled and shook her head, trying to shake off her emotions. "So what did the doctor say? What happened?"

Itachi was silent for a long moment. How was he supposed to tell her that he had three years left? How was he supposed to tell her that his heart was failing?

Feeling incredibly guilty, like the filthy liar he had become, Itachi found that he couldn't tell her.

"I have this condition," he began, "a valve in my heart is shaped kind of funny…because of its shape, my heart sometimes struggles to keep up sometimes, especially when I'm active. He said that with all of the stress and everything that's been going on, my heart was probably working overtime and I had a blood clot that caused me to go into cardiac arrest."

"That sounds kind of serious…" Ari said, her suspicions rising.

Itachi held his breath, fighting back an uncontrollable urge to just brush off her comment with what Ari called his "humming". He knew she would catch on if he did though so instead, he mustered, "yeah, but it's not as serious as it sounds. I'd imagine I'm going to have some limitations now, but the doctor is going to prescribe me medications that will keep a clot from forming again. I'm going to be okay."

At that, Ari sighed in relief, all suspicions washing way. Itachi had a feeling that she had sensed the lie in there, but at that point, Ari's strength had been stretched in all directions and all she wanted to hear at that point was good news. "Oh thank goodness."

Fighting more tears, Ari pulled Itachi into a long embrace, and they held each other for a long time.

Itachi couldn't help but feel as if he were drowning in his lies.

* * *

**Ari**

I couldn't help but feel as if Itachi wasn't telling me the whole story, but I figured it was for my sake and he would elaborate when we were both feeling better. All that mattered at that point was that he was going to be okay. We would get through this.

The doctor came in with the medications as he began explaining what Itachi would have to do to keep his disease from getting worse. "Now, this prescription can be refilled at any pharmacy, you just have to give the pharmacy about a week's notice so they can get you a refill. You must take three a day. One with every meal," the doctor explained, "also, avoid any strenuous exercise such as jogging, sports, sparring of any kind, and intercourse."

My heart fell on that last one.

"Now, Shisui is a ninja," I explained, "our income comes from his physical activity."

"When you get back home, you'll have to probably put in for disability," the doctor said, "you can still go on missions, but they can't be too lengthy or your heart could give out on you. Any other recreational activities are strictly off limits."

Ita let out a long sigh, "including…sex…"

"Especially that," the doctor said, "you and your wife can still be intimate, but as soon as fatigue starts to set in, you're done."

I grimaced, thinking back to the past few nights. How close we had gotten…I pushed the thought out of my mind. No, none of that mattered. All that mattered was that Ita was healthy and that we were happy together. We could find other ways to show our love for one another…it would just take getting use to is all.

Later that day, Ita was discharged from the hospital and we were back in the honeymoon suite. Ita was supposed to be confined to his bed for the next day or so, allowed to only leave the room if to walk around the hotel or sit on the beach or to eat. We were completely silent the rest of the way home. Jaraiya, Kisame, and Naruto all met us at the front door, crowding us and asking about what had happened. We sat and visited for a while, but then made our way back to the hotel room. Once there, Itachi plopped down on the bed. I changed into a camisole and put on some short pajama shorts. There was no need for me to arouse Ita at all. I crawled into bed next to him, we were both silent.

But then Ita spoke up, "if you want to move on, find someone else who can give you what you deserve, go right ahead. I'll understand."

I looked down at Ita, surprised and a little hurt by his remark, "why would I do that?"

Ita avoided my gaze and sighed, "well, it's not like we can do anything. I'm useless. And besides, I'm a criminal who betrayed his village. We hardly get to see each other anyway. You deserve so much better and I'm selfish for trying to keep you by my side."

I rolled onto my side and stroked Ita's hair as I spoke softly, "Itachi, I'm never leaving your side. The sex thing, that doesn't matter. I love you and you love me. As long as we have each other, I'm as happy as can be."

Ita looked at me with sad eyes, "but what if…but Ari, what if I get worse? What if I become only a nuisance to you? You shouldn't waste your time trying to take care of me then. Why don't you just spare yourself the heartbreak and move on?"

I shook my head. Where was all this coming from? "Ita," I said, "we don't know that will happen. And even if it did, I wouldn't be wasting my time. I'm going to stand by your side. No matter what happens. We'll get through this together. I promise."

"But why?" Ita asked, "why go to such great lengths for me?"

I shrugged, "I don't know…I guess…well…you know wedding vows? Well…I've always loved the meaning behind them. 'to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.' I think those vows are beautiful and are the ultimate testament for one's love for a person. I want to stand by you, Itachi, in sickness and in health. I want to be by your side for better or for worse until death do us part. You can't change my mind once I've committed to something. And I'm committing to you."

"Ari…" Ita stared at me with wide eyes. He grasped my hand tightly and took a deep breath as he said, "go reach into the pocket on the inside of my Akatsuki cloak."

I raised an eyebrow, confused but did as he asked. I fumbled through his coat pockets and found a small box hiding inside. I pulled it out, eyeing it, confused. Itachi got out of bed, and walked towards me. "What is inside this thing?" I asked.

"Open it and see," Itachi breathed. I pulled the box open and gasped. Tucked neatly inside was a golden ring with a sparkling diamond resting at the top. I looked at Itachi and opened my mouth to speak, but I was at a loss for words. He took my hands in his and knelt down on the ground before me. "I know we're young…and I know we haven't been together for that long…and honestly, I was hoping to do this in a much more romantic situation than this but…life is short. I don't know when or where we'd be able to get married so I'm going to ask you now."

My eyes watered as I held down a lump in my throat. I eyed him, shaking as I said, "then go ahead and ask."

Ita took in a deep breath and said, "Ariala Uzumaki, will you take me to be your lawfully wedded husband, until death do us part?"

I broke out into a huge smile, tears pouring out of my eyes as I squealed, "Yes!" I threw my arms around him as he stood back up, both of us crying. He pulled the ring out of its box and slid it onto my left hand. I eyed the sparkling ring carefully. It was absolutely beautiful. I held him close as we crawled into bed that night. We were just about to drift into sleep when I remembered something and asked, "so, what were you telling me about Kagami this morning?"

As I asked, Itachi's smile fell as he remembered, "oh. That. Look, I think it might be best if you keep your distance from Kagami. I saw chakra signatures below the stage at Rich and Charlie's. And when Kagami hugged me, I couldn't help but feel a second chakra inside her, only it wasn't like Naruto's where you can feel the Kyuubi, I mean, your Dad, separate from his. It was as if this chakra had melded itself onto Kagami's."

I sat up, my suspicions rising, "do you think Kagami has to do with the kidnappings?"

"I don't know," Ita answered, "she might even have to do with the stolen scroll too. But if that is the case, Ari, you said it's only been young women attacked. If Kagami is the culprit, she might be targeting you next."

"Well, then how about I give her what she wants," I snarled, "look, Rich and Charlie's is closed at this time on week nights. I can easily sneak down there and look around."

At that, Ita's eyes widened and he sat up, "Ari. _No._ You don't know what's down there."

I shrugged, "Ita, this situation is urgent, if there are innocent people down there, they need our help now. We don't know how many people have been killed, if any, already."

"I'm not letting you go without me!" Ita argued.

"Well, that's too bad because you're out of commission right now, Ponytail," I snarled back, "someone has to go down there!"

"Why can't we just wait till morning? Talk to the others about this?" Ita offered, "I don't see why you have to rush into everything!"

"Rush into everything?" I glared at Ita, "Excuse me, but we've been here a week! And have we accomplished anything? No! The only person who's managed to do anything here was you with that goddamn heart attack!"

"Ari…" Ita pleaded, holding my shoulders, his eyes were sad, "we've been through enough already…just please…stay safe with me. Don't do anything. At least not until morning."

I eyed Ita stubbornly, but the sorrow in his eyes was so great, I had no choice but to give in. "Okay, fine. I'll stay with you."

And with that, I lied back down and waited for Ita to go to sleep.

The nice thing about that man was that he was a pretty heavy sleeper. At around one in the morning, I slid out of his arms and quietly dressed myself in my shinobi gear. I would only take a peak. That shouldn't last too long. I pulled my hair into a tight ponytail and strapped my swords to my back. But then I felt a presence sneak up from behind and I pulled out a kunai.

"I wouldn't make any sudden movements, if I were you," Kagami said in a low voice. She held a knife at my throat, "if you value your life that is."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I was awake to see you try and take me," I snarled at her.

"I'm surprised," Kagami said, "my father said he had called for help for Konoha to rid this hotel of that vial demon whose been stealing young girls…but I never suspected that help would come from you…and to think that you even dragged your poor lover and your family into this. What? Did you think fewer people would suspect you if you came in as tourists? Does Shisui even know the real reason for this vacation?"

I eyed Kagami. She didn't seem to know that the others were shinobi. Good. I could keep it that way. "Well, they know about the mission, they simply offered to help me sniff out the rat. I guess that rat is you?"

Kagami let out a small chuckle, "you'll be sorry for calling me that. Now move."

Kagami led me down to Rich and Charlie's and down the stairs of the trap door on stage that Ita had spoken about. Underground, there was an entire tunnel system dug out, with several prison cells. Kagami shoved me into the largest one as I fell to the ground. I looked up to see ten girls sitting in the corner, shaking with fear. Kagami took a step inside and closed the gate.

"How many more of them?" I asked.

"Just these last few," Kagami answered, "I took the rest."

I let out a low growl. I was way too late, "but why? Why would you do this?"

Kagami sighed and walked over to the huddle of girls. She grabbed one by the hair and drug her to the middle of the cell kicking and screaming. "Beauty and popularity is everything. Nothing matters if no one likes you. That's what Mother and Daddy taught me."

"Please…no!" the girl cried, "Please don't take me too…!"

Kagami ignored her, throwing the girl on her knees to face Kagami. Kagami placed her hand on the girls face and continued, "and a year ago…the paparazzi humiliated me with an embarrassing photo I had taken. I was losing popularity, my songs losing originality. New young artists were creeping up on the charts and my fans were leaving me. They said I was losing my charm, my beauty. My power! My father hardly even looked at me when my fell out of the top ten. He worried that I wasn't pretty enough. I did too…so that's why…"

"That's why what?" I asked. I had a horrible feeling about this.

"I sought out ultimate power…" Kagami said, facing away from me, "sucking the souls out of the prettiest girls that came would gain me ultimate beauty. My fans would love me again. And if they didn't, the power that the demons who approached me gave me would more than suffice to force them back into my grasp!"

"Demons? Woah! Kagami, you have no idea what you are messing with here! That's some scary business, they're just manipulating you!" I pleaded, leaping to my feet. Kagami ignored me, and I heard a hissing noise as the girl screamed bloody murder, her soul being sucked into Kagami. The superstar's skin turned paper white as she turned to face me, her facial features all gone except for an all too familiar scarecrow mouth that ginned at me maniacally.

The spider witch…

"Oh, but I do," Kagami hissed in that witch-like voice. She shook her head, her human face returning as she let out a cackle, "but now thanks to you, I realize that beauty isn't the only piece to the puzzle! This power isn't the strongest out there either! How lucky I am to have the daughter of the NineTailed Fox show up on my doorstep! And to bring her boyfriend and her happiness with her too! When I take your soul, that happiness will be mine! And when Shisui takes me as his, so will his love! And I will finally become the most powerful in all the world!"

My eyes widened as I scrambled to my feet. I slammed my body into the jail cell bars, trying to break the lock, but I was trapped. I turned back to see the face of the spider demon as she placed her hand over my face. I felt the life being drained out of me as I fought back, managing to maintain consciousness. The spider witch frowned as she hissed, "It seems you are too strong for me to hold onto your soul alone…I will require a medium to keep you still…" Kagami reached out a clawed hand and pulled my necklace off me. I held in a shriek as she took it. That necklace meant everything to me! Kagami grinned, "this should do for now…"

There was a sharp hissing in my ears. A sharp pain. And then I sunk into the darkness.

* * *

**Itachi**

When he awoke, Ari was not at his side.

"Ari? Where'd you go?" he asked sitting up. The bathroom door was open and there was no sign of her. Did she go down for breakfast? Itachi got up and started to get dressed, but tripped over Ari's bag. It was spilling open, as if it had been dug through. Itachi held it up, confused, but let out a sharp gasp when he saw her leaf headband lying on the floor.

Oh, no, she didn't…!

Itachi bolted out of his room and banged on Kisame's door. The blue Akatsuki opened the door, his hair in disarray as he had obviously woken up, "You need something?"

"Ari's gone," Itachi said.

Kisame shrugged, "She probably just went down for breakfast or something.

"No!" Itachi pushed against the door as his teammate attempted to close it, "I mean she's been taken."

At that, Kisame's eyes lit up with alarm, "What?"

At around that same time, Naruto came running down the hall screaming, "Itachi! Kisame! We've got trouble!"

Itachi spun around to face Naruto. The boy had tears falling from his eyes. Oh no… "What is it?" he asked anyway.

"It's Ari…she's…!"

Itachi didn't give the kid time to finish. Despite the ache in his chest that began to form, Itachi sprinted down the hall and the stairs as fast as he could. He reached the lobby and came to a screeching halt. Jaraiya stood with Master Hoshiyo, their faces grim. Kagami sat in a chair, crying, with several area police officers examining the scene. In front of the three, laid Ari's body.

"No…" Itachi whispered, as he walked over to Ari, his knees trembling. He eventually fell to his knees and scooped Ari up into his arms. He knew she shouldn't have gone out alone! He knew it!

"Th-there was this spider thing…" Kagami whimpered, "I was out late last night and it attacked me…she…she tried to protect me…"

At that, Kagami broke out into sobs.

"Master Hoshiyo," Jaraiya said, "I'm afraid we haven't been completely honest with all of you. You see, we are all shinobi of the Leaf Village, we were sent here on orders to put a halt to the kidnappings. It seems that Ari snuck out trying to do a patrol of her own when this happened…"

"She…" Itachi whispered, his body shaking, "Kagami, there were signs of life hiding underneath the stage at the restaurant yesterday…we got suspicious of you and your father…Ari wanted to go out and look around last night…I told her not to go alone but she didn't listen…." Itachi couldn't hold the tears back any longer, he screamed as he cried out, "she was so stupid! She always puts others ahead of herself and she just threw her life away! And now we'll never get married!"

Itachi held Ari close, crying. He didn't care who saw.

"Itachi," Jaraiya noted, "that ring…when did you propose…?"

"Last night…" Itachi whimpered. This couldn't be happening…!

At that, Jaraiya didn't say anything. Itachi looked back down at Ari, stroking her beautiful face, but he froze when he noticed that Ari's necklace was missing. Itachi looked around. Did she take it off?

At around that time, a police officer gathered at crying Kagami to take her away for more questions. As she stepped away, Itachi caught a glimpse of a flash of gold around her neck. His Mongekyo Activated as his body trembled, rage welling up inside.

_She did this._


	13. Chapter 12: The Fox's Child

**Kurama**

Such a foolish, spiteful child! If she had just freed him like a good girl when she had the chance, Ariala would still be alive!

The NineTails fox sat still in his cage, but let out a low growl.

"Damn you…" he cursed. That was it. He had had enough. He would not tolerate remaining tranquil in this hellish seal for any longer! It was bad enough when Chinatsu was killed, but now Ari? Any remnants of love that his heart had once held were swallowed up. Now, Kurama was just a dark, defiled, mass of hatred.

For a brief moment, Kurama remained still, observing the situation through Naruto's eyes before he made his attempt at escaping. That Uchiha cradled Ari's lifeless body in his arms…those damn Uchiha, why would Ari even associate with them anyway? Did she not remember what happened? But then Itachi looked up at the superstar as she walked out, his sharingan activating. Did he notice something? Kurama eyed the girl suspiciously. He felt more than one chakra within her, one of which was about as ominous as Kurama's, but nowhere near as powerful. But there was something off about the other chakras…and one…one didn't seem to be entirely in Kagami's body, but trapped inside the necklace around the girl's neck.

That necklace was Ari's….

Kurama leapt to his feet. Ari was not dead. That Kagami girl had taken her soul! But why? Thrashing around in his cage, Kurama had to get out. He had to save his last light.

"_Naruto…._" He growled, "Let me out of here…!"

* * *

**Ari**

I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by darkness. In front of me, stood Kagami, her eyes fixated on what was ahead of her. I looked in the direction that she was looking and saw the outside world. She was walking towards mine and Ita's room.

"You still have a consciousness? That's impressive," Kagami stated, "I was sure that I had killed you when I took your soul, but you really are resilient, aren't you?"

"Just what are you going to accomplish from this, Kagami? Sure, you're pretty, sure you'll have my powers, but how in the hell are you going to get Ita—Shisui to even love you?" I asked, "he's not going to fall for you just because you have my necklace."

"Oh, but I have your soul," she explained, "all it will take is a kiss, and when his soul comes into contact with the remnants of yours, Shisui will forever be under my spell. His love will be mine, and in that same instant, your soul will be sealed away for eternity."

Well that didn't sound good…that bitch…

"Why are you so obsessed with Shisui, anyway?" I asked.

"Because he gives you what I want," she said, "it's as you said, when you find someone who truly loves you, you stop feeling lonely."

"But he won't ever truly love you!" I yelled, "Kagami, even if you do manage to kiss him, even if you put him under your spell, that won't be real love! It'll just be fake! It won't really mean anything!"

"Shut up!" Kagami screamed, "you don't know anything. You don't know what I am capable of!"

With that, Kagami pushed me out of her sub consciousness. I tried to fight back, but felt myself completely restrained by her mind. I had to get out of this mess. I had to save Ita. I couldn't let him be put under some kind of love potion! Not after everything he and I had been through!

"Ita!" I cried out as Kagami stepped into the room. Itachi looked up, surprised to see her. His face was pale and his eyes bloodshot, but he was now wearing a stone-cold expression and his Akatsuki cloak. "Ita! Run away!" I cried again, but he didn't seem to hear me.

I bared my teeth, fighting back the rage as I started thrashing against whatever was binding me. I had to reach through to him, I had to tell him to get away from Kagami…but how?

* * *

**Itachi**

Kagami stepped into his room, a solemn expression on her face. Itachi glanced at her, fighting the rage that threatened to bubble up inside him. She was still wearing that goddamned necklace.

"What do you want?" he asked harshly.

"I came…to apologize. I am so sorry for you loss…Ari was a true friend…" Kagami said. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Itachi, embracing him tightly, "and if you ever need anything, and I mean anything, don't hesitate to ask. I can give you whatever your heart desires."

"That's kind of you to say," Itachi pushed her back, "but I do not seek your help."

"Shisui, why the cold expression? It's okay to open up to someone, you know. Especially after a morning as traumatic as this…" Kagami said, her lips puckering out as she batted her eyelashes at him, "I can at least…help you take your mind off of things…for a little while…"

Kagami pressed herself against his body and stood on her toes as she leaned into Itachi. Her actions only angered the Uchiha even more as he pushed her off of him, "What are you trying to do, Kagami? The love of my life was just killed by a demon, and you're trying to get with me because I'm suddenly single? How low are you willing to go?"

At that, Kagami shot him a glare, "Shisui…I don't think you understand—"

"No! You don't understand!" Itachi barked, his temper flaring, "you waltz around acting like you own everything, like everyone will just drop at your feet and show you their absolute affection towards you because that's what you want! If you want to be loved, you have to work for it. And by the way, my name is not Shisui. In fact, I'm not even accredited with a village. I'm a rogue! My name is Itachi Uchiha, and if you come anywhere near me, I _will_ kill you."

After that, Itachi turned away and began to pack his things. To his surprise, Kagami didn't leave.

"So that's why she always calls you 'Ita'…" Kagami said in a low voice. She then snickered, "my, your love with that woman is much more stained than I thought. A murderer and a demon…what a perfect pair you two are."

At that, Itachi froze, "how do you know about Ari?"

"I have my resources," Kagami explained, brushing the question off. She took another step towards Itachi and slung her arms around him, "but really, Itachi, I think you should relax. Take a load off…you can trust me you know…"

Itachi tried to throw her off of him, but he caught sight of the necklace hanging on her collar, it hypnotized him almost. Kagami pushed him backwards until he was sitting on the bed. Itachi tried to get up, but his muscles started to relax, disobeying his mind's commands. She pushed him on his back and Kagami knelt on the bed, straddling Itachi.

"I guess you didn't love her that much if you're willing to take me now," Kagami sneered. Itachi felt as if he were trapped inside his own body. He wanted nothing more than to throw her off of him, but that necklace…there was something about it. He looked into Kagami's eyes, they were like chocolate, warm and sweet. Comforting… Kagami leaned towards Itachi in an attempt to kiss him. He closed his eyes, and began to lean in to kiss her back.

* * *

**Naruto**

He couldn't stop crying. Ari was gone and he knew he had to accept that fact. People leave all the time, right? But this was different…she was the first person who had ever accepted him. Jiraiya spent the rest of the day trying to get Naruto's mind off of things. They were out on the beach skipping rocks, and the boy started to lighten up, but he was starting to feel sick to his stomach. He felt queasy, but he also had this sharp pain forming in his lower abdomen.

And that's when he heard it.

"_Naruto…_" an ominous voice in his head whispered. Naruto jumped and looked around.

"Something wrong?" the Pervy-Sage asked. Confused, Naruto shook his head.

But the voice spoke again, and this time, he recognized it…he had heard it once before during the Chunnin exams. "_Naruto…! Let me out!_"

"The NineTails…" Naruto whispered aloud.

"_Let me out, dammit!_" the NineTails roared, at that, Naruto doubled over in pain as he screamed. He felt as if his insides were being pulled apart.

"Gaaagh!" Naruto screamed, falling to his knees. Jiraiya ran to Naruto's side as the boy rolled on the ground, "The NineTails…!"

He heard shouts but they were muffled as Naruto's vision blurred. The next thing he saw was the NineTailed Fox thrashing around in his cage, glaring menacingly at Naruto.

"Let me out, Naruto!" He ordered.

Trembling, Naruto glared back at the fox, "Not a chance, you monster!"

"Do you want your precious elder sister to die?" he roared back, thrashing harder, causing the pain in Naruto's stomach to worsen, "or do you just want me to tear you to shreds so I can save her myself?"

"Save her? What do you care about Ari?" Naruto shouted at the Fox, "She's already dead! And besides, you're a demon! What does Ari have to do with you?"

"You haven't even the slightest clue, do you…?" the fox mumbled, narrowing his large red eyes at the boy, "Listen, Ari is not dead. Her soul was sealed away inside the spider demon you faced off! Now let me out! I am the only one who can free her!"

"The spider demon? But we killed that thing!" Naruto shrieked, "And how am I supposed to trust you, anyway? I'll go save Ari myself! I don't need your help!"

With that, Naruto forced himself back to consciousness as the image of the Kyuubi faded away, "You will regret this, Naruto…"

Naruto's eyes shot open to see his teacher standing over him.

"Naruto! What happened?" he asked, helping the boy to his feet. Naruto's stomach still ached, but he pushed the pain away and broke out into a sprint back up to their rooms. He didn't know why, but Naruto had a feeling that he needed to tell Itachi that Ari was still alive.

* * *

**Itachi**

At the last minute, Itachi turned his head away, evading Kagami's lips. He pushed against her shoulders, holding her away from him.

"Why have you been so adamant about me?" he asked suddenly. Kagami sat up, displeased as she glared at him. "I'm a taken man, why can't you just find somebody else."

"I can't imagine that a pig like you would ever understand!" Kagami snapped. She pushed Itachi's shoulders back down as he attempted to sit up. Her grip was strong…inhumanly so. She continued to speak, "I've spent my whole life alone in this world, the only reason people ever paid attention to me was because I was beautiful. But Ari…she's not even worth a man's time! And yet you love her…well, I want that love too! I want to have what I deserve!" Kagami was screaming by this point, her movements became jerky and suddenly her voice twisted suddenly, raising an octave as she said, "And goddammit, Ita, get away from this bitch!"

Itachi froze, staring up at Kagami who gasped and closed her mouth. Kagami's brown eyes widened as her body trembled. Suddenly, her eyes turned icey blue. Ari…?

Kagami let out a shriek in Ari's voice as she fell backwards, holding her head. "Goddammit! Ita, get away from me! I mean her!"

Itachi sat up, confused, "Ari? I-Is that you?"

"Silence!" Kagami hissed, but she jerked around, her eyes changing color repeatedly and then she spat out, "Yes! It's me! Kagami is that spider witch we fought! She took my soul and put it in my necklace! DON'T KISS HER!"

"I wasn't going to!" Ita said back, as he leapt to his feet.

"You were too! I saw it happen!"

"That wasn't me!"

"GAGH! That doesn't matter right now, _just get away from me!_"

But then Kagami's voice twisted back into her own as she shot Itachi an evil glare, "You bastard…you're going to regret this…"

Itachi in turn drew a kunai and activated his Sharingan, "Somehow, I doubt that…"

Suddenly, Naruto burst into the room screaming, "Itachi! Kagami's the one who took Ari! But Ari's not dead!"

Kagami turned back around and shot Naruto a glare, but then her expression contorted into a horrific smile, "Oh? I get the Fox's daughter and the Fox himself? My, my, this is my lucky day…"

"Fox's daughter…?" Naruto muttered, his eyes wide.

"Naruto, get out of here!" Itachi called out, lunging at Kagami as she made a move to attack the boy. Itachi rolled on the ground as Kagami struggled in his grasp, trying to strangle him, but then her movements got jerky again, and she let out aggravated screams.

"LET ME OUT!" Ari screamed from within. Naruto jumped, watching the scene. Ari turned to face Naruto and ordered, "Naruto! Get out of here! I don't know how long I can hold Kagami down!"

"Ari?" Naruto screamed, "Why are you inside Kagami?"

"She took my soul!" Ari explained. At this point, Itachi had her pinned down in case Kagami tried to surface again, "Where is my body?"

"Master Hoshiyo had the police officers take it to the morgue!"

"WHAT?" Ari shrieked, "How long ago did they leave?"

"Not too long ago…we could still catch them if we ran!"

Ari nodded and Itachi's grip loosened on her as she attempted to get up, but Kagami struggled against Ari. "Don't…you…dare…you are mine, you half-breed!" Kagami hissed. The woman clutched her head and cried out.

Panicking, and without really thinking, Itachi smacked the woman hard across the face, knocking her to the ground so hard, she should've been knocked unconscious. Both voices groaned from inside the body as it staggered back to its feet. Then Ari's eyes returned and she screamed at Ita, "What the hell was that for?"

"You're welcome," Itachi said, crossing his arms, "Is Kagami out?"

Ari paused, her eyes gazing upward, "Nice…but how did you know to do that?"

Itachi looked around, shifting uncomfortably, "I…didn't…"

Ari glared at him, "so you slapped me for the hell of it…okay, never mind, I don't know how long I have until this brat wakes up, let's go!"

The three ran in the direction the ambulance had driven off in. Itachi and Naruto wasted no time trying to catch up to it, but Ari seemed to be lagging behind…it was like she wasn't even running.

"HEY! Wait!" she called out, "I can't run that fast with these legs! And I'm in a dress!"

"You are so high-maintenance, sometimes!" Itachi groaned, scooping Ari into his arms as he took off as fast as he could run.

"Like you can talk," Ari snapped back, "and should you really be running?"

"Well this is an emergency," Itachi spat back, ignoring the fatigue that was already setting in. They caught sight of the ambulance and Naruto took off first, bouncing off some buildings before he landed on top of the ambulance. He stuck his head in the passenger window and must've startled the driver because the ambulance veered off to the side and braked suddenly. Itachi ran up to the back of the ambulance and set Ari down, forcing the doors open.

"I know this is weird," Ari said, "but I need my body back, thank you."

The paramedics gave her a weird look as she stepped in, but, trapped in the body of a superstar, they didn't protest. Ari slung her body over her shoulder and stepped out.

"Now what?" Itachi asked her. Ari's face contorted as she grimaced.

"I was just about to ask you that…"

"You mean you don't even know how to get back in your body?" Itachi smacked his hand to his face, "Ari!"

"Well, I'm sorry! I'm not a voodoo master!" Ari retorted sarcastically. She then placed a finger to her chin and thought, "well…I am kind of trapped in my necklace…maybe if I took it off and put it on my body I could.." Ari started to reach for the clasp of her necklace, but her arm froze, shaking. Ari groaned as she fell to her knees, beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead. "Ita…I…I can't…"

Itachi knelt down next to her, "Is it Kagami…?"

"No…I…I'm fading…." Ari said, her eyes darkening back to Kagami's brown. Itachi began to panic. No…he wasn't going to lose her…!

"Ari! Stay awake!" Itachi pleaded.

"I'm trying!" Ari snapped back, grimacing, "I don't know…what this is…"

But then, Ari's voice twisted back into Kagami's as Kagami said, "…you're falling…soon I will absorb you completely, you half-breed!"

* * *

**Naruto**

He watched horrified as Ari turned back into Kagami. Dammit, they were so close!

"_Naruto…you can't save her alone…_" The NineTails growled from within, "_You need my chakra…"_

"Oh, don't start this again, Kyuubi!" Naruto barked back from within, "you can't fool me!"

"This isn't about fooling you, Naruto, this is about saving Ari!" it fought back, "I already told you, you can't save her with your power alone. You need me!"

Ignoring the Kyuubi, Naruto turned his attention to Kagami and Itachi. Kagami now stood and had lunged at Itachi.

"By sunset, Ari will be gone forever, and I will have it all! Including you, Itachi!" Kagami roared. That woman was fast…almost as fast as Ari was.

"Naruto!" Itachi ordered, averting his attention for a moment, "Go find Jaraiya and Kisame! NOW!"

"Got it!" Naruto said, taking off back towards the hotel. Behind him, he heard Ari push back through Kagami's consciousness as she screamed out.

"Gagh! Ita! Grab my body and follow Naruto!" she asked. Naruto looked back and saw Itachi scoop Ari's body up in one arm and the shared body of Kagami and Ari in the other. "I didn't mean me!"

"Can you guarantee that Kagami won't push back through before we get to the others?"

"Well…no…"

"Then I carry you!"

Luckily, Ari maintained consciousness until they got back to the beach. They ran into Kisame first, who had been looking for them.

"Where the hell have you been? And Itachi…what are you doing?" Kisame asked.

Ari glared at him, "Calm down, Jaws, we need your help!"

Kisame jumped, "Ari? Why are you…?"

"Kisame," Itachi said, lying Ari's body down on its back, "Kagami is a demon who stole Ari's soul. We need to find a way to free Ari before Kagami absorbs her soul completely at sunset."

"Sunset? That's only a few minutes away…." Kisame said out loud.

Behind them, Master Hoshiyo and Jiraiya came running up to them, Master Hoshiyo cried out, "Who are you calling my dear daughter a demon? Kagami! Where have you been?"

"Master Hoshiyo," Ari tried to explain, "Kagami's not—Gagh!" Ari clasped hold of her sides and fell to her knees, screaming as Kagami pushed through, this time with a voice similar to the hissing of the spider witch.

"Yoou…little…wench!" Kagami hissed, "Jussst die already!"

"Naruto," the NineTails growled.

"Just shut up already!" Naruto snapped back, now standing in front of the Kyuubi's cage.

"You brat, look, if you aren't going to let me out, at least listen to my instructions. I think I know how you can save her…" the Kyuubi explained.

At that, Kagami's body looked up with Ari's eyes and eyed Naruto curiously. Ari groaned out, "Dad…?" in a confused tone before her struggles against Kagami continued.

"Okay…" Naruto asked the Kyuubi, "how do I do that?"

"First, take the necklace from that woman and place it around Ari's neck. Act quickly, we need to get this done before sunset," he said.

"Guys!" Naruto called out to the others as he returned to the world around him, "take the necklace! Hurry!"

Immediately, Itachi dashed towards Kagami, reaching out towards the woman's neck. But Kagami pushed through Ari and dodged him hissing, "_No you don't!_"

Naruto turned back to the sky, the sun was lowering in the sky quickly…come on, Itachi…hurry up…

Ari forced her way through long enough to stop as she grunted and gasped, straining to maintain consciousness. Itachi pulled the necklace off of Kagami's neck and the woman fell to her knees. Itachi held the necklace in his hand as the gold started to glow softly…Ari's soul…

"Put it around Ari's neck!" Naruto said. Kagami awakened and began writing on the ground, her eyes flashed from blue to brown.

"Dammit…we might be too late," the Kyuubi spat, "part of Ari's soul is still inside that body…"

"She'll make it," Naruto said quickly, "she'll fight through it…Ari's strong!"

"But is she strong enough?" the Kyuubi asked, more to himself than to Naruto.

Ignoring the last comment, Naruto watched intently as Itachi clasped the necklace around Ari's collar, but her body remained lifeless and still. The sun danced behind the ocean and disappeared. Kagami stopped wriggling and managed to stand as she let out an evil laugh, "you're too late! Ari's soul is mine! And so is Itachi! He will obey my every wish!"

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "I don't feel any different…" he then glanced down at Ari and fell to his knees. "Dammit…we couldn't save her?"

"Maybe it isn't too late…" the Kyuubi said suddenly, "Maybe she just needs a chakra boost…Naruto! Place your hand on Ari's shoulder!"

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Naruto did as he was told and felt an electric shock run through his arm. Naruto yelped and fell backwards as a massive amount of the Kyuubi's chakra was transferred over to Ari's body. Her back arched upward and her eyes shot open as Ari gasped for air. Kagami's eyes widened as she shrieked in pain, falling back to the ground.

"Ari!" Naruto called out. Ari rolled onto her stomach, clutching her sides as she screamed in pain. A flood of red chakra surrounded her, emitting from her body. It condensed around her and her eyes began to turn a blood red color.

"Dammit…Naruto, what did you do?" she asked.

"The Kyuubi told me to give you some chakra! Why, what's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto…everyone get away from me! Part of me is still inside Kagami and I can't control…! Gagh!" Ari sat up on her knees and screamed again, trying to maintain her sanity. Lose control? What did that mean? "You guys have to kill her or else I'll…! I'll…!"

"_You bastards…what have you done?_" Kagami hissed. Her skin turned paper white and her face disappeared except for her scarecrow mouth. She leaned backward and a massive spider's body exploded out from her legs, "_I'll kill you all!_"

"Kisame, stay close to me," Itachi said quickly.

"Right," Kisame replied. The two leapt in the air and began to attack the spider witch. Ari continued to writhe on the ground.

"Please hurry…!" Ari pleaded, tears pushing out of her eyes. Naruto knelt down beside Ari and placed his hand on her shoulder, worry consuming the boy's mind. What was happening to her? Why would she lose control…? And what would happen to her if she did?

"Naruto," Jiraiya said, "It might be best if you get away from Ari for now."

"But why?" Naruto asked, "how could she be so dangerous?"

"AGH!" Ari screamed, sitting up on all fours, she looked over at Naruto with scared eyes. They were a blood red color…almost like the Kyuubi's. "Naruto," she moaned, "I'm not human!"

"What?" Naruto asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm the Kyuubi's—AGH!" Ari screamed again as the chakra around her condensed into what looked to be a red cloak in the shape of the kyuubi around her. Four tails sprouted out from behind her and Ari's heaves slowly turned into low growls. "Itachi…!" Ari called out in an inhuman voice, "Hurry up!"

Itachi turned back with panicked eyes as the spider witch took a swipe at him and threw him to the ground. "_You're too late!_" she squealed.

Ari's hair stood on end as she let out another growl. Naruto watched in horror as her teeth and fingernails seemed to grow longer and sharper. Her ears started to shift to a more pointed shape and dark lines formed around her eyes. Her nose flattened and started to look more like a cat's. Ari bared her teeth and lifted her head up to the sky as she let out an ear-splitting roar.

"Hmph…I should have known," the Kyuubi groaned, "she is only half-demon after all…she isn't able to handle the massive amount of chakra that I gave her…strong as she is, her human side is too easily swayed from the hatred…"

"Half-demon? Human side? What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto blurted out, horribly confused.

The NineTails sneered, "you mean you still can't tell? Why, she's my child after all…"

"What? I don't believe that!" Naruto barked back in disbelief. Ari? The NineTails' daughter? There was no way that could be true.

"Deny it all you want, Naruto, but that is the truth."

"Never mind, I don't have time for you!" Naruto barked as he stared at Ari with fear. The cloud of chakra around her condensed until it was against her skin and hid her body, making it appear red and black with the NineTails' ears and lower body. Behind her, eight tails whipped around furiously. Naruto sat back and leaned away from the monster before him…there was no way that that could be Ari…

Ari growled and took a swipe at Naruto, but Naruto jumped back. Ari let out a low growl, but her attention averted to the two Akatsuki as Itachi called out, "Ari! Snap out of it!"

Ari leapt into the air and made to attack Itachi, but Kisame swiped her away with his Shark-Skin. Ari landed on her feet and leapt up to attack again. This time, the spider witch got in her way. "_Ultimate power is mine!"_ she screeched. Ari opened her mouth as the spider witch came down on her. Building up a ball of chakra in her mouth, Ari then released the ball in a beam that exploded with it made contact with the spider witch. Screaming, the spider with fell to the ground, burning away until all that was left was Kagami's lifeless body.

Well…that was quick…

* * *

**Ari**

I huddled up into a ball, my body frozen. Darkness surrounded me.

"Ita…?" I called out.

No answer.

"Mom? Dad? Minato? Kushina? Anybody?" I whimpered.

A strange voice that sounded almost like mine answered, "do you honestly believe that they will save you? Do you honestly believe that someone will come for you?"

"Wh-what?" I asked the voice, "of course someone will! They…they care about me, don't they?"

"HA! Why would anyone care about you? You're a monster! A freak! No one in the world would ever accept you. That's why they're all dead!"

"Ita isn't!" I protested.

"Oh, but he will be…everyone has left you in this world. And the only one left can't even look you in the eye and speak the truth. And you know why? Because deep down, he really hates you! Just like everyone else!"

I tried to scream, but I ended up drowning in the darkness.

* * *

**Itachi**

With Kagami out of the way, the four shinobi surrounded Ari. The monster that consumed Ari growled, looking around at its opponents.

"Ari," Jiraiya said slowly, "we don't meant to harm you…we're your friends…"

Ari snapped back with a growl. She lunged forwards and struck Jiraiya in the shoulder, slashing at him with her claws. Jiraiya fell back, holding his shoulder. Itachi watched in horror as Ari turned back around to attack Naruto.

"Ari stop!" Itachi called out, stepping in front of Naruto, blocking Ari's attack with a kunai. He managed to push her back. Ari lowered her stance and let out a low growl. Itachi gulped hard. He hoped he wouldn't have to kill her…

But for some reason, Ari didn't attack. A confused look formed on her face and Itachi could've sworn that he heard Ari's voice crying for help. Itachi stared at the creature before him and his heart broke as he realized just how scared Ari probably was deep inside the monster that controlled her. Itachi slowly set down his kunai and held his hands up.

"Naruto, back away," Itachi said. Naruto nodded and did as he was told. Itachi then looked back at Ari and said gently, "It's okay, Ari, I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe now."

Ari's low growl escalated into a sharp snap. Itachi had to cover his ears, the roar was so loud. He then took a step towards her. In response, Ari took a step back and roared again. She really was scared.

"Shh…it's okay, Ari," Itachi cooed, "everything will be alright."

Ari crouched low to the ground and prepared for an attack. Itachi held his ground. He had to save her.

"Itachi! Look out!" Kisame called out as Ari lunged toward him, but Itachi didn't care. Instead, he ran towards Ari and threw his arms around her as she slashed his sides. Itachi winced in pain, his right side nearly going numb, but he held on tightly to Ari as she thrashed around in his arms, clawing at his shoulders and giving him even more cuts.

"Shh, I'm here," Itachi whispered stroking Ari's hair, "please…stop. You're alright. Ari!"

As if she could hear him, Ari's body stiffened and stopped moving. She growled again, unsure what to do.

"Ari," Itachi whimpered, fighting back tears, "I love you…please…just come back…just come back to me."

"Ita…?" an inhuman voice responded. That was definitely Ari. The chakra cloak surrounding her body bubbled off of her, leaving a badly bruised and beaten Ari behind. Ari relaxed in Itachi's arms and just about collapsed as all her weight leaned into Itachi.

"Oh thank goodness…" Itachi breathed as he turned Ari over onto her back, cradling her. Ari looked up at him in a daze, but tears leaked out of her eyes as she whimpered, but her cries didn't exceed more than that.

"I'm sorry…" she said, leaning her head against his chest.

"You're okay now," Itachi said, pressing her head against his cheek, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Me too…" Ari mumbled, still dazed, "I love you…"

"I love you too, Ari," Itachi chuckled. They held each other for a long moment before Ari had recovered enough to stand. As she did, Itachi held back a blush. Her clothes had been torn up in the who fiasco…really torn up. "It's chilly out," Itachi said smoothly, taking his Akatsuki cloak off and draping it on her shoulders, "can't have my _fiancé_ catch a cold out here."

Ari gladly accepted the cloak and buttoned it up. She beamed and said, "thank you…that was pretty smooth."

Itachi shrugged, "I try."

The two turned back to see the others running up to them. Naruto cried out as he threw himself on Ari screaming, "I thought you died!"

Ari laughed as she caught Naruto in her arms, spinning him around, "Oh come on, Naruto! I'm not that weak!"

Itachi smiled, allowing the two a moment. Kisame gave Itachi a strange look and said, "that was certainly something you pulled off back there…how did you know to do that?"

Itachi shook his head, "I just had a feeling…"

"A feeling…" Kisame chuckled, "no offense, Itachi, but I never pegged you as the type to have feelings…especially after you managed to slaughter your clan…" then Kisame whispered, "and on orders too."

Itachi jumped, alarmed, and shot Kisame a glare, "What?"

Jiraiya laughed and patted Itachi on the shoulder, "don't worry, Itachi. Kisame's been on to you for a long time. We had a talk about it yesterday. You can relax, he's on your side."

"Yeah, Itachi," Kisame grinned, "what, do you think I'm one to betray my friends?"

"Friends…?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, confused. He hadn't been able to call someone his friend since he had fled the village, but as he looked at Kisame and Jiraiya both, Itachi couldn't help but smile. He really did have friends in those two. And good ones at that. Itachi joked, "but you betrayed your village…"

"Hey!" Kisame spat back, "I didn't have any friends there, you moron! And the Akatsuki was working with the Mist at the time so really, I never betrayed them!"

Itachi chuckled, "Relax, I was only kidding! Friends do that, you know."

Kisame groaned and rolled his eyes. Jiraiya laughed but then returned to a more serious mood, looking back at Kagami and said, "Well, I guess there is really only one thing left to do."

Itachi walked over to where Kagami was laying. She gazed up at him, but she didn't look hurt or angry, she looked at peace.

"Itachi…you freed me from the spider demon…" she whispered weakly.

Itachi shook his head and knelt down, "I didn't save you, Ari did."

"Ari…" Kagami mumbled. In response, Ari turned her attention and walked up behind Itachi, a solemn look on her face. "Ari, please forgive me…I was selfish…I only wanted…to stop feeling so lonely…"

Ari smiled warmly and said, "There is no need to apologize. You were possessed by a demon. And I understand how you feel. If I had never met Ita, I might have done the same thing you did."

Kagami's attention then turned back to Itachi, her eyes wide, "that's what it was…I finally understand now…Itachi…you don't love Ari for her looks at all, do you."

Itachi smiled and chuckled, "Hardly at all. Her beauty is only the icing on the cake which tops off what a great woman I have fallen in love for. Kagami, you don't need outer appearances or power to impress a man, you only need to stay true to yourself. Nothing more."

Kagami smiled, "I see…and in the end I was so conceited I only ended up more alone than when I began all of this…"

"No you didn't!" Ari protested, "Kagami, don't you see? This is the first time you've ever really been yourself. And the real you is a really cool person. You've already gained two friends out of it."

"Friends…?" Kagami's eyes widened. She smiled as she began to cry, "you guys really think that?"

Itachi glanced back at Ari, the two exchanging smiles, "of course we do. Kagami, it may not have worked out between us, but you would've made a lucky man really happy someday. But I can assure you that you aren't alone anymore, because you are our friend."

Kagami's eyes slowly closed as she lost consciousness, "for the first time…I'm not alone anymore…thank you…"

With that, Kagami Hoshiyo passed away.

* * *

**Ari**

We spent the next few days doing mostly clean-up work. Kisame stumbled across the scroll they had been looking for in Kagami's room. He handed it to Itachi who proceeded to ignite the scroll with his Amaterasu.

"I thought you were taking it back to your Leader," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"That was only a cover because I didn't trust you," Kisame said, "in truth, Pein knows how to use the summoning that's in this scroll, but our spy, who I am guessing was Kagami, got intel on this jutsu and wrote it down on here before she ran away. Based on her behavior, I think it's safe to assume that the spider demon which possessed her wanted to seal the tailed beasts away for her own benefit."

"So your summoning has to do with my family?" I asked, alarm bells sounding off in my head.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," Kisame said quickly, "Although the Bijuu have something to do with Pein's plan…I doubt it's actually going to work."

"But if it does…" I began, "Kisame, you're a good friend, but if you go after Naruto—"

"Hey, we don't know if that will even happen," Itachi chided gently, taking my hand, "Take it one day at a time. Seeing my uneasy expression, he kissed my forehead and thought, _*I won't let them take Naruto. You have my word.*_

I nodded in acknowledgement and smiled. With that, I knew Naruto would be okay.

We checked out of the hotel to return home, the five of us going our separate ways, but not before we attended Kagami's funerals.

"Thank you all for what you did," Master Hoshiyo said softly, "I had no idea Kagami was suffering like that…as much as it pains me to lose her, you all saved her spirit. Thank you again…"

Naruto and Jiraiya broke from our group first, Naruto giving me a big hug as he said goodbye, "Next time you see me," he said, "I'm going to be even stronger than you!"

I laughed, "I'm holding you to that! Oh! But wait, I think I still have my camera!" I fumbled around my bag, searching for it. When I discovered that I had it the day before we checked out of the hotel, I went crazy taking pictures on our last day of vacations. I had some pretty sexy ones of Ita too…

Naruto groaned, "Ari…!"

"Just one more!" I begged, "Of the five of us, come on…please?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "alright, fine!"

I held the camera an arm's length away from me and everyone gathered around as I snapped a quick picture. I leapt in the air, "YES!"

With that, Naruto and Jiraiya left, and I wouldn't see him again for another two and a half years. I then turned back at Kisame and Itachi, who I would end up seeing just about every day from then on.

"Well, are you guys going your separate ways too?" I asked.

Itachi sighed heavily, "Well…"

Kisame laughed, "You go do your other job, I'll go fill Pein in on what happened."

Itachi let out a heavy sigh of relief and said, "thanks…I'll meet up with you later at the Uchiha hideout."

"Cool. You should show Ari that place too. See ya!" and with that, Kisame took off.

I gave Ita a funny look, "Uchiha hideout? And what's this other job you have to do?"

Ita chuckled, "Ari, I think you might've suffered some memory loss…do you not remember that you were supposed to rendezvous with a Root member?"

At that, my eyes widened and my jaw dropped. I panicked as I looked around quickly. Dammit! I completely forgot about that guy!

Itachi laughed at my reaction and reached into his travel pack, pulling out an ANBU mask, "Relax, Ari! To be honest, I had forgotten about that too until you brought the topic up."

My jaw dropped to the floor, "You mean that was you? Why is Danzo even…?"

"I'm not too sure either," Itachi shrugged, "but ever since I came back to the village, Danzo's been keeping in contact with me…even asking me to take on a few Leaf missions if I was nearby enemy territory. And I admit, it's been kind of nice working for the Leaf again. I guess for this mission, he just wanted to see the Ultimate Tag Team in action again."

I smiled and shook my head, "well, I hope this means we'll be seeing a lot more of each other then."

Itachi chuckled and nodded, "oh, I'm sure we will." He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close as a mischievous smile spread across his lips. We exchanged a long kiss, and I broke away gently much sooner than I had wanted to, careful not to aggravate his heart.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, smiling, "so tell me about this Uchiha hideout you were telling me about…"

Itachi shrugged, "well, it's a large house outside the village. It's pretty secluded and has a barrier around it that you can't see through unless you know the house is there. Kisame and I have been staying there, especially now since Danzo has been calling me in. It's a nice place…you know…if you wanted to live there with me, you could."

"Oh?" I asked, "well, I like the sound of that idea. Do you think the Leaf will mind if I started living with an S-ranked criminal?"

Itachi chuckled, "well, you're already engaged to him…I can't see why they would try to protest any further…"

We both laughed and exchanged another kiss before we headed back to the Leaf. Shortly after that, I moved in with Itachi and Kisame, but kept some belongings in my apartment back in the village. The house was three floors. The basement became Kisame's living quarters, the main floor where the kitchen and entryway was became the common ground where all three of us would visit, and the upstairs became like a nice little apartment where Ita and I could settle down and start our lives together.

Because of Ita's condition, we couldn't start a family the way we had planned, but by some little miracle, our little flower still found us, lost and alone in the Village Hidden in the Rain, three years after that mission, just as the hunt for the Bijuu began.


	14. Chapter 13: The Wild Flower

Alrighty, guys, this is a long one! And a quick correction, in the last paragraph of Chapter 12 I had a bit of a typo, when Ari was talking about "finding their flower" three years after that mission, it was really two years later. This chapter happens before Naruto Shippuden starts up. Oh! And to answer akira-chan's question, patience, my dear! You will have your answers in this chapter! And why thank you, I try to update as quickly as I can and I have been unusually free lately. Plus I was home sick today so maybe, just maybe, I will get TWO chapters out today! (but that's a big maybe) and also, my quick updates are also thanks to you readers and reviewers. I update my stories based on what my readers want (I am a people pleaser!) and since you guys have loved Broken Love so much, I've been more than happy to crank out these chapters. So thanks again and keep reviewing and let me know if you want more! :) And to Jennkuu (did I spell your name right?), yeah, your predictions about Ita are right, I'm sticking to the storyline as best as I can so...Ita and Ari are in for a tough reality check...have your tissues ready when I get to the end of Itachi and Sasuke's big fight, because I have so many feels about what I'm planning! But don't worry, I'm not a soulless fiend behind a computer screen, I intend for a happy ending! (just as long as Kishimoto doesn't pull a major troll in the next couple of weeks...) And thanks once again to all of my faithful and awesome reviewers! You guys rock! :)

Well anyway,

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

Six months before Naruto returned to Konoha, we met her. She was absolutely beautiful and when I held her in my arms for the first time, my life suddenly felt whole again as pieces finally started coming together.

But let's back up for a minute. Let's go to where this all started. Two years after the mission in the Land of Ogres, two years after Itachi proposed to me, we were living happily in our converted Uchiha hideout. It was the perfect place, hidden up in the mountains that started with the Hokage Faces in the back of Konoha and traveled north all the way to the Cloud Village. Between the mountain range and the barrier, the house was impossible to find if you didn't know it was there. So it became a place where we could live in peace, undisturbed. I spent my time equally divided between the house and the apartment I kept in Konoha, and my cover for being absent from the village so frequently was that I had been recently appointed as a village liaison and traveled to other villages frequently to uphold peace.

I wasn't sure why, but I couldn't help but notice Ita's heart condition getting progressively worse as the years went on, despite the doctor's assurance (well, Ita's, based on what the doctor told him…but that man does stretch the truth sometimes) that the medications would keep his disease from worsening. Over the course of two years, his prescription was changed from three pills a day to three pills a meal, and you could tell when he skipped even just one dose. When it went up to its maximum dosage, I began to worry that Itachi might get addicted to his medications. Of course, being Ita, I ended up having to worry about the exact opposite. I had to practically shove those pills down his throat. And whenever he came back from missions, I could tell when he had "forgotten" to take all of his pills.

Normally, Itachi would come home energetic and a little frisky, sneaking up behind me and grabbing me by the waist before he spun me around a couple of times. I would squeal as he did so, catching me off guard every time. He'd laugh as he'd turn me to face him and we'd share a long embrace before we would head off to our favorite tea shop (after Ita changed out of his uniform of course) for some of his favorite dango and we'd just sit and talk and enjoy each other's company.

When he didn't take his meds, however, Ita would come home sluggish and tired, and I could hear his ever step as he tried to sneak up on me. Instead of spinning me around, he'd wrap his arms gently around my waist and rest his head on my shoulder. I'd turn at him to smile, but immediately notice the bags under his eyes and the color drained from his cheeks.

"Hey, beautiful," he'd try to say enthusiastically.

I'd glare at him, "you forgot your meds again, didn't you…"

"Hm?" he'd ask, trying to play dumb.

"You're humming!" I'd scold, "Ita, how many times have I told you to take your meds as prescribed?"

"I did!" He'd protest, "I took all of them, I swear! It was just a long mission…"

"Are you lying to me?"

"Mmmm….no…?"

"So that's a yes then?"

At that, Ita's shoulders would sag and he'd look away, guilty as charged. I'd motion my hand for him to hand me his travel bottle and he would hand it to me, grimacing. I'd shake the bottle and find anywhere between six and twelve pills still inside, depending on how long the mission was. "Itachi!" I'd groan.

"I'm sorry!" Ita would plead and usually come up with one excuse or the other like, "we got ambushed," or "there wasn't time for every meal, so I had to skip a few," or "those pills are huge and I didn't have enough water to swallow them!" I'd sigh and shake my head. I figured those excuses were true most of the time, considering he came home perfectly fine most often. But the fact of the matter was that he just didn't like taking those damn things and if it weren't for me, he'd probably be dead already.

When he did come home that way, I wouldn't scold him any more than that, and when he would finish with his line of excuses I'd sit him down at the table and cook up a big hearty meal. The last doctor we saw who changed his dosage up to the maximum did say that if for whatever reason Ita missed a dose, we could give him four at a time for the next meal, but no more than that. So that's what I would do. I would plate up as much protein that I could find in the fridge and fit in the frying pan, get a bottle of sports drink and set out four pills next to his plate. He'd eat it all and hesitantly down his medicine. I'd then take him upstairs to our living room and set him down on the floor and he'd take his shirt off. I learned that if I used medical ninjutsu on him to heal any scrapes or bruises and then use it over his chest to help his heart beat for a few minutes, I could give Ita's body a little kick-start that made up for his lack of medications. After that, Itachi would go to our room and take a nap for an hour and then he'd wake up later, perfectly fine.

So of course, when Itachi came home one fateful day and wrapped his arms gently around me, his head resting on my shoulder, I instinctively turned my head to scold him. To my surprise, however, Itachi didn't have bags under his eyes and his color looked good, I shut my mouth but felt utterly confused.

"We need to talk," he said in a low voice.

Uh-oh…what was this all about? We went up to our room and I sat down on the bed, watching Ita as he changed out of his Akatsuki robe and threw it in the dirty clothes hamper. He changed into sweat pants but remained bare-chested as he paced around the room, not sure where to begin.

"Itachi…what's this all about? Is something wrong?" I asked, my chest hollow. I didn't know what he was about to say, but I was almost afraid to know. Did something happen to Sasuke? Did the Akatsuki capture Naruto? Was he breaking up with me?

Itachi quickly sat down on the bed next to me and took my hand, "the Akatsuki's Leader wants to meet you…"

My eyes widened in surprise. Relieved that that was all it was, I let out a laugh, falling backwards on my back. That's all this was?

Itachi watched me, his eyes alarmed, "Ari, this is serious!"

I sat back up, forcing down my laughs, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but by the way you were acting I thought either someone had died or you were breaking up with me!"

Itachi shifted nervously on the bed, "well…if this meeting doesn't go well, someone might as well be dead…"

My smile fell as Ita said that, "what?" I bit my lip and explained, "well…Ita…I never really told you this but, after Sasuke fled Konoha, I think I might have run into the Akatsuki leader…his name is Pein, right?"

Itachi looked back at me, alarmed, "What? Ugh…Ari!"

"It's not like I planned it, or anything! And besides, nothing happened, so I didn't really say anything…I kind of forgot about that until recently!"

"That's why he wants to see you…" Itachi groaned, covering his face, "Look, I've never met Pein in person. No one has except for Konan. I don't know what you got from him after that confrontation, but Kisame accidentally mentioned your name in our last meeting and I had to explain to Pein that I was seeing you."

I took in a deep breath, worry starting to bubble up inside, "what did Kisame say…?"

"Nothing too bad," Itachi said, "He didn't mention anything about our relationship with the Leaf. The meeting was about hunting the Bijuu and—"

"Hunting the Bijuu?" I screamed, more alarms going off in my head, "Itachi! That's my family! And Naruto!"

"Please let me finish," Itachi pleaded. I shut my mouth and he continued, "We don't even know if we're going to go ahead with that plan. It was an idea that Pein had been playing with for a while and he threw it out there. All Kisame said was that my girlfriend had connections to the Tailed Beasts and that she wouldn't hesitate to take each and every one of the Akatsuki down if her family was threatened, even if I was affiliated with them. Pein asked me what your name was and I had to tell him. He didn't seem to mad though. He said that he recognized your name and wanted me to take you to the Rain Village to meet you in person."

"Okay…" I said, trying to control my breathing. I could see why Itachi was so disturbed when he came home. "So, how exactly do we get into the Rain Village? Outsiders have been kept away from there since the Third Great Ninja War."

"Well, the people of the village do not hate outsiders," Itachi explained, "It's Pein who keeps outsiders away. See, Pein and Konan are both from the Hidden Rain Village. He's worshiped as a god there and the Akatsuki are considered Pein's missionaries. We're welcomed in that village and we often use it as a place to hide if we're being trailed. The people of that village know me, as long as you're with me, you'll be fine."

"Well that certainly is convenient," I breathed, "so when to we leave?"

"Right now," Itachi said curtly.

"Right now?"

"Right now."

"Oh, thanks for the warning," I spat, changing into my shinobi gear, throwing my tank and vest on quickly. I grabbed my Leaf Headband to wrap it around my forehead but Itachi grasped my wrist tightly.

"Not that," Itachi ordered, "the Rain Village hates the Leaf."

I sighed heavily and put the headband back on my dresser. Itachi reached into my closet and pulled out a gray hooded robe that shinobi are given for cold-weather climates. He draped it over my shoulders and said, "you'll need this."

Itachi then changed into his Root gear and we both made our trek down to the village. I went into Tsunade's office and Itachi went down to Danzo's. When I stepped into Tsunade's office, I found her on the phone with Jiraiya. They were talking about the Akatsuki.

"Milady," I whispered, if you could put Jiraiya on speaker, I have something else to say about the Akatsuki…Haru discovered this on his last mission." Tsunade looked up at me and pressed a button on the phone. Jiraiya's voice echoed in the room. While the village thought that I was a liaison for the village, Tsunade knew that I was living in the outskirts of the village with my fiancé, a man who I had known for a long time, but was commissioned as a spy for root, exploited for his talents. She knew he could no longer show his face in the village nor could he reveal his identity as he had been forced to work for Root as a spy, doubling as a criminal, but to Tsunade, my fiancé was called Haru (and yes I got that name idea from Haru of the venom…I'm not creative with names). Only the elders knew that Haru was actually Itachi. At first the elders protested my living with Ita, but Tsunade, who had also suffered a great deal of loss between her brother and her boyfriend Dan, she understood my pain and allowed me to live with Ita. I desperately wanted to tell Tsunade that Haru was actually Itachi Uchiha. She was the Hokage after all, and she could help Ita's condition, she probably knew more than any of the other doctors we had seen. But the three elders and Itachi all refused to let me tell her. They all claimed that is was a secret that was meant to die with them. For now, I would respect their wishes, but I would only sit idly by temporarily.

"Ari, what did you find?" Tsunade asked. I took a seat at her desk and began to explain, careful to watch my words. Since the village wasn't in any danger, and I didn't want to expose Itachi's secret (yet), I spoke only half the truth.

"Haru was on another scouting mission for Danzo," I explained, "he's filing the report now, but he said he found several spots just outside the Land of Fire that appeared to be Akatsuki hideouts."

Jiraiya, being the one Itachi relayed any intel on Akatsuki to agreed, "yes, my sources have confirmed that the Akatsuki have left their marks in several areas. Since they move in pairs, they only gather at specific places, and go to the same hideout twice. I don't know how they are able to gather without gaining attention, but I think they're planning something big."

"Well, based on what Haru found, he says there is one hideout near the Village Hidden in the Rain that looks like it has been well used. He think the Akatsuki might be congregating there again, and he'd like to look further into the situation," I explained to the two, "and he'd like me to go with him."

"Absolutely not," Tsunade ordered, "Ari, you have no idea what you're getting into. Too little is known about the Akatsuki for you to just waltz into their hideout snooping around. It's one thing if Danzo wants to send Haru out, but I'm not placing any of my shinobi in danger!"

"Tsunade," I said in a low voice, "it's not just that he'd like me to go with him…I have to go."

Tsunade eyed me suspiciously, "just what do you mean by that?"

I held my breath. I hated lying but I had no choice, "Lady Hokage…with the mission Haru and Danzo have in mind…they need my abilities unless Haru is looking for an early death."

"Ari," Jiraiya said through the phone, "there is a specific reason why you need to go…other than your psychic abilities, am I right?"

I nodded my head. Tsunade looked at me and in a low voice asked, "does this have to do with the Bijuu…your family?"

I sighed heavily, "I won't know until I get there."

"Alright, fine," Tsunade said, sighing heavily, "but as soon as you see even the slightest hint of trouble, call in for backup, don't try to take the Akatsuki all on alone. Got it?"

I stood and bowed, "Understood, thank you, Lady Tsunade."

With that, I took my leave and met Itachi standing in his Akatsuki uniform outside the village. We took off heading in the direction of the Village Hidden in the Rain. It didn't take long for us to reach the border. I held my breath as we stepped out of the Land of Fire. A misty fog began to surround us as the climate grew more and more humid. I began squirming from the humidity, why the hell did Itachi have me bring this heavy cloak, anyway?"

"It'll cool down significantly as we get closer to the village," Itachi said, noting my discomfort, "enjoy he extra body heat while you can."

I nodded, saying nothing as we continued. At one point, Itachi put his straw hat on, covering his face. I followed suit by putting the hood over my head. Not long after that, and I don't know when or how this started, it felt like we were in the middle of a monsoon. Itachi placed his arm around my shoulders, keeping me close, "from here on out," he explained, "don't leave my side. I have no idea what awaits us in the village."

"Alright," I answered, "you lead the way."

I was amazed by the architecture of the Hidden Rain Village. From the outside, it just looked like a dirty city, with large metallic buildings. As poor as the village was and with the lower standard technology, I wasn't surprised by its musky appearance. But as we stepped further into the village, I realized that the village wasn't dirty at all. It was just the fog from the rain which caused the musky appearance. Its large metallic building structures, its elaborate pathways. The Hidden Rain Village was probably even more impressive than Konoha. I looked around in awe. This village had really come back in recent years, and could probably even give the five great nations a run for their money…so why was it so secluded?

Ita led me to a bakery as we stepped inside. He took his hat off and I pulled off my hood, shaking my hair out like a dog. An elderly woman in the bakery look up as the bell to her door jingled. "Oh, hello, again, Master Itachi! It's good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Tanaka, how have you been?" Itachi greeted politely, a smile on his face. I eyed the two's conversation suspiciously. Itachi wasn't kidding when he said the people of this village knew him…

"And who is this lovely lady at your side, Itachi?" Mrs. Tanaka diverted their conversation, giving me a big smile, "is this that girl you're always going on and on about?"

Itachi smiled big, his face turning a light pink as he pulled me close, "yes ma'am!" he then led me over to the counter where the old woman stood and held his hand out to her, "Mrs. Tanaka, I'd like to introduce you to my fiancé, Ariala Drake."

"Pleasure to meet you," I said, bowing. "I take it you keep Ita well fed when he's away."

"I always do! And I make sure he takes good care of himself. I'm sure we both know how Itachi is with his medicine," Mrs. Tanaka gave me a wink. I nodded smiling blankly. So she knew about that too…? "Itachi's told me a lot about you, Ariala. I must say, you are beautiful, more so than I had imagined! And so polite! Itachi, you are a lucky man, finding such a sweet girl."

"Am I ever," Ita chuckled. I smiled up at him, blushing. Did he really talk about me with other people?

We sat down at a table and Mrs. Tanaka gave us plates of dango, rice patties, and other treats. Ita and I exchanged glances and Ita began to pull out his wallet, but Mrs. Tanaka refused any money. "It's on the house," she said.

We both thanked her and dug in to our food. I looked out the window as I ate, eyeing the down pour. "So…forgive my ignorance, but does it always rain like this?"

"Oh yes," Mrs. Tanaka said cheerfully, "tell me, how much do you know about the Rain?"

"Not much," I admitted.

Itachi chimed in, giving me helpful hints to go off of, "The _Cloud_ is so far away from here that their people haven't had many exchanges with this village. And…a village like this is hard to explain, I figured I would just bring her here myself and have someone like you share its history. You are a great story teller, after all."

"Oh Itachi, such a gentleman!" Mrs. Tanaka blushed. She then sat down next to me and took my hands. With a warm smile, she explained, "The Third Great Ninja War wreaked havoc on this humble village. The Leaf and the Sand Villages exploited just about every resource we had, and being in between the two villages, our country was often used as a battleground. Our leader at the time, Hanzo, who had led our forces to success during the second war, was no match for a double-sided match. He couldn't maintain stability and our country broke out into civil war amongst the chaos. It was then when a group of three young people established an organization called the Akatsuki in an attempt to bring peace to the village. Hanzo couldn't stand the thought of another leader besides himself, and sought out to destroy the Akatsuki. Almost all of their forces were destroyed…but that's when He came…"

Mrs. Tanaka paused for a long moment, her eyes gazing off to a distant memory. I cocked my head to the side and asked, "who is 'He'…?"

"Pein," Mrs. Tanaka answered with a smile on our face, "the Lord came down in the form of a man with blessed eyes. He brought an end to the fighting of this country and has led the village with his glory ever since. We have no Kage, we only abide by the rules our God had laid down for us. He disappeared after the fighting ceased, no one knows where he dwells. But we know he is there, we know he protects us. This rain you see outside is not just a continuous downpour; it is God's holy rain. Through this rain, our guardian paper angel, and the Akatsuki missionaries, Lord Pein watches over His people, protecting us from any danger."

"That is quite a beautiful story," I said, "I can see why Itachi has remained so loyal to Akatsuki for all these years." Next to me, Itachi pursed his lips, stifling a laugh. I groaned internally. Our hands holding each other, we exchanged a few brief sarcastic snaps at each other and laughed. We continued to eat as Mrs. Tanaka continued to talk, a warm smile on her face, but when her gaze drifted back to the window, her smile fell.

"Oh no, not _her_ again…" Mrs. Tanaka mumbled, standing up. I looked out the window and saw a small girl looking inside, her little hands and face pressed against the glass. She was drenched from the rain and absolutely filthy, her face covered in dirt. She practically wore rags, as the baggy white t-shirt she was using as a dress had been torn up and muddied.

"Who is she?" I asked.

Mrs. Tanaka frowned sadly, "nobody knows…honestly, if there is one thing I hate about this village, it's the way they treat orphaned children. Especially those from the outside world. A child is a child, no matter what their heritage, right?"

"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked, observing the girl. She had beautiful violet eyes…I had seen those eyes somewhere before…

This time, Itachi stepped in, "because of the village's past, the Rain Village does not tolerate outsiders. Because of its instability until recent years, many families have been forced to abandon their children and orphanages are beyond capacity. They'll take in infants for a time, but, especially if there is evidence they came from an outside village, they abandon those children when they are able to walk."

"That's awful…" I said, my heart breaking as I watched the little girl. Her expression was like stone, not sad, not smiling, not like a child's. She almost looked as if she had been broken.

"It is," Mrs. Tanaka grimaced, "and this little girl has had the higher ups in an uproar lately. I can't tell you why, but they don't want us helping her…it's like they're just waiting for her to die. I've tried to give her food, but she refuses and runs away whenever I hold it out to her."

The girl and I stared at each other for a long moment. She eyed me curiously, and I could feel something deep down inside of me. I felt this absolute need to hold her in my arms and protect her from the dangers of this world. I don't know where this feeling came from; it was as if it had been inside me all along. And those eyes of hers…I could've sworn I had seen those eyes before. Those beautiful, purple eyes…

Without thinking, I stood up and grabbed hold of a couple large rice patties. I tucked them into my cloak and began to walk outside. Itachi called after me, "Ari! Hey! What are you doing? We're guests here, we can't threaten the village's authority!"

I ignored him and took a step outside. As I did, Itachi chased after me. Mrs. Tanaka put her hand on Itachi's shoulder before he left and I heard her say, "she has a kind heart…why don't we see what happens?"

I turned towards the girl and smiled at her. She stared back at me with wide eyes, fear taking over her facial features as she took a step back. I knelt down and held out a rice pattie and asked her, "are you hungry?"

The girl let out a shriek and turned to run. I chased after her as she ran down an ally and hid behind a few trash cans. I pushed the cans out of the way and knelt down next to her. She stared at me, whimpering, scared out of her mind. I held my hand out to her and said, "I won't hurt you. It's okay."

The girl's whimpering ceased, but she still trembled, eyeing me with stone eyes. I recognized the expression on her face. It was the same one I wore whenever I tried to hold my emotions inside, trying to keep people from seeing my weakness. My heart melted at the sight of this little girl. But it also broke. As I watched her more closely, I realized how hollow her cheeks looked and how pale her skin was. She was practically skin and bones, she was probably dying, and this girl couldn't be more than three years old.

"What's your name?" I asked. The girl said nothing. "My name is Ari. Aren't you cold?" I tried, holding my hand out to her. The girl looked confused, her gaze turning from my hand to my eyes. I smiled warmly and repeated, "I won't hurt you. Why don't you come with me? You must be starving and I'll get some good food in you and a nice warm bed, okay?"

Hesitantly, the girl crawled towards me, her eyes started to water. She still didn't trust me entirely, but I could see her shield starting to come down, revealing just how terrified of a lonely little girl she was. She didn't take my hand, so I reached out and touched her cheek. I had to fight the urge to pull away, her skin was ice cold. My heart broke as I realized just how weak and just how sick the little girl probably was. If I hadn't found her when I did, she would've been dead within the week.

The girl trembled at my touch and shrunk away. I then held out the rice patties again and said, "here. You need your strength."

At that, the walls came down. The little girl took on in her small hand and took a bit out of it. As she did, tears started leaking out of her eyes. She closed them tightly and sobbed, stuffing the food in her mouth. She took the other one out of my hand and ate quickly, but her shrunken stomach couldn't handle that much food and her face flushed a green color and she slowed her eating when she was half-way through. She only cried harder.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetie," I cooed, taking the rest of the rice pattie from her, "don't eat too fast or you'll make yourself sick."

The girl continued crying and she held out her arms, begging me to take her away from the hell she had been living. I scooped her up into my arms and held her tight. Her body was so cold… She buried her head in my chest, her little hands balling into fists, gathering my clothes up in them as she cried. I stroked her hair, humming a soft lullaby in her ear as I rocked her back and forth. I walked back to the bakery with the little girl in my arms. With every step I took, this strange protective feeling I had grew stronger and stronger. I had to protect this girl…I had to keep her from danger…and without even knowing her, I loved her more than anything in the world.

I gave Ita a bright smile as I walked up to him. He stared at me and the girl with wide eyes. It wasn't that he didn't want me to help the girl; he was just scared about how Pein would react. I understood that much, but in that moment, I didn't care. This little girl needed me.

"Ari, how did you do that?" Mrs. Tanaka asked, placing her hands on her hips, "I've been trying to feed this girl for the past year and she won't get anywhere near me!"

I shrugged, "It just took some time, I guess. But Ita, this girl is ice cold and I can't get her warmed up, can you put her in your cloak?"

Itachi gave me a shocked and incredibly confused look, "Wh-What?"

I rolled my eyes, "unbutton your cloak!"

Still in shock, Ita did as he was told. As the opening of his cloak got wider, revealing the gray tunic underneath, I placed the girl against his body and said, "Now button her in and carry her. We need to get her warmed up."

"But Ari—"

"Just do it."

Itachi sighed heavily and obeyed me. He took the girl in his arms and as I pulled mine away from her, the girl let out a scream and reached towards me. I smiled gently and stroked her hair, "it's okay. This is Itachi, he will take good care of you, don't worry."

The girl looked up at Itachi with curious eyes. Still stiff with confusion, Itachi forced a smile and said uncomfortably, "hello there, little one. What's your name?"

The girl said nothing, but stare up at him with those big beautiful eyes of hers. As her eyes locked onto Ita's, I saw his form relax, his eyes softening. I could tell he had the same feeling bubble up inside of him that I had. He held her tightly, trying to warm up her body, "you really are cold…let's take you back to the Tower and get you a nice hot bath."

"If you guys want, I can make something and bring it over," Mrs. Tanaka offered, "my treat."

"That would be much appreciated, thank you," Itachi said.

Mrs. Tanaka gazed at the girl with a nervous expression on her face, "you two just be careful," she said, "I don't know how the village would react if anyone saw you two with this girl…but…Itachi you are a chosen one of Pein, wearing the uniform of the Akatsuki…perhaps this is a sign that you two were meant to find her…"

Ita and I exchanged glances before we nodded and took our leave. Itachi led me to the Tower, which was supposedly where Pein lived and was an apartment complex that the Akatsuki would use when the stopped in the Rain Village. Itachi had his own living quarters in the Tower, complete with a bedroom, kitchenette, living room, and a full-sized bathroom. As soon as we got home, I dunked the girl in the bathtub. Letting her soak in the hot water, I made Itachi take his afternoon dose of pills before I sent him out to the store to find the girl some actual clothes. As I scrubbed the girl clean, having to change the bath water twice, I thought hard about what Mrs. Tanaka had said.

And come to find out, it really was a sign that Ita and I were meant to find this little girl.

* * *

**Itachi**

Fumbling through the clothes racks, Itachi grimaced. What the hell was Ari thinking sending him out all by himself? He didn't know the first thing about shopping for girl clothes! He drifted over to a rack in the kids section that was covered in pink. Girls like pink, right?

As far as he could tell, just about every girl but Ari did…shrugging, Itachi grabbed a handful of pink dresses, shirts and shorts. That would do for now, right?

He was on his way to the check-out when Itachi remember that Ari had asked for some underwear…he walked over to several packages of kids underwear, eyeing them confused. There was more than one size?

Noticing his distraught face, a mom with her kids in the shopping cart came over and said, "first-time parent?"

Itachi nodded. You could say that… "Yeah, my…wife…and I just…adopted. The little girl came to us sick and Ari's at home taking care of her and she sent me to do the shopping…but I have to be honest, I don't know the first thing about girl clothes…"

The mom chuckled, "well, that's awfully sweet of you. And you're a missionary, aren't you? Well, God must have sent me to help you out. And it's the least I can do for all of your good work. So tell me, how old is your little girl?"

"Three," Itachi guessed, "though she's small and malnourished. The orphanage struggled to keep her and her roommates fed."

"Ah, that makes sense," the mom said, frowning. Her smile came back and she reached over to hand Itachi several packages of underwear. "They're all different sizes," she explained, "you can see which one fits, but I imagine that you can keep the bigger package for when she grows. And here…" the mom too the clothes out of Itachi's hands and grabbed some different clothes off a rack. She kept the pink dress but pulled out a yellow sweater, some black leggings, and a pink coat and a pair of pajamas. She even grabbed a pair of shoes. The woman led Itachi to the checkout and pulled out her wallet, "these should do for now until your little girl is well enough to try on some clothes. And I'm buying. Consider it a token of my gratitude."

"Wow…" Itachi said, "thank you so much…."

After thanking the mom several times, Itachi made his way back to the Tower. He walked inside and heard Ari's voice coming from the bathroom. Poking his head in, Ari was wrapping a towel around the girl's body to dry her off. It was amazing how much better the girl looked when she was clean. Her cheeks were a rosy pink and her skin was a light peach color like Ari's and her silky hair was a dirty-blond, just a few shades lighter than Ari's brown hair. And those eyes…he hadn't seen a deep purple like that before, but they certainly were pretty.

"Now, doesn't that feel better?" Ari said, a bright smile on her face, "isn't it nice to be squeaky clean?"

"Mmhmm," the girl muttered in a cute little sing-song voice.

"My, don't you look lovely," Itachi said to the little girl, a smile on his face, "you certainly clean up well."

"Oh, just in time!" Ari said. She stood up and took the girl in her arms, walking out of the steaming bathroom and into the bedroom. She sat the naked girl down on the bed, still wrapped up in a towel and took the bag from Itachi's hands. She pulled out all of the clothes and chose to put the girl in the sweater and leggings. When the girl was dressed, Ari stood back, admiring her work. "Wow, Ita…you did good! They're big on her, but she'll grow into them. I must say, when I sent you out, I wasn't sure what I was going to get back."

"To be honest, I wasn't either…" Itachi mumbled, letting out a nervous laugh. Ari jumped next to him as she remembered something else. She swiftly walked over to her backpack and pulled out a hairbrush. She sat on the bed behind the girl and began brushing her hair.

"If your hair is anything like mine," Ari told the girl, "we better brush this mane out before it turns into a tangled mess!" At that, the girl let out a bright laugh that was so beautiful and so filled with joy, Itachi's heart warmed up at the sound. When that little girl laughed, all the troubles and inconsistencies of the world vanished. Ari must've felt that too as her smile dropped for a moment and she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She then looked up at Itachi and said, "Ita? Mrs. Tanaka will be over at any minute, but I was going to make some hot soup anyway. Could you go in the kitchen and pull out some pots and pans and get dinner started?"

"Of course," Itachi said smiling. He walked over to the two girls and gave Ari a big kiss. He then knelt down beside the little girl and kissed her forehead, "careful, though, Ari, you might just spoil her." He winked at the girl who in turn giggled lightly.

As Itachi walked to the kitchen, his heart filling with a joy he had never known before, he couldn't help but wonder if that little girl in the bedroom with Ari was the little flower they had been waiting for all along.

* * *

**Ari**

The girl's hair was really really thick, just like mine. It felt like fur. But the difference between our hair was while mine, which had been cursed with the course stringy texture of Uzumaki hair, this pretty little thing had silky smooth hair that you could just run your fingers through all day if you wanted. It kind of reminded me of Itachi's hair. As much as I made fun of him for keeping his hair long, I just loved playing with it. I loved running my fingers through it and braiding it, and messing around with it. I even think that was part of the reason he kept it as long as my hair was, down to the tip of his shoulder blades.

I continued to talk to the girl, and slowly a big beautiful smile grew on her face as she would erupt into cute little giggles. She even started talking in a cute, sing-song voice. She spoke like a songbird. After a while, I learned to stop asking for her name because every time I did, that smile would fall and either she would start whimpering or her walls would go back up. I would sigh heavily and have to work her back out of it, starting all over again.

We walked out into the kitchen to find Itachi had gotten the soup started. Mrs. Tanaka had already stopped by to drop off some of her baked goods, but had left before I finished cleaning the girl up. Itachi was a pretty good cook, he had learned from his mom and aunt, the two geniuses in the kitchen. Despite his skill, Ita still insisted that I could cook circles around him and suddenly lost his confidence in the kitchen when I was around. I couldn't tell if that was because he felt inferior to me or if he was just flirting, but I would sigh and reassure him that he knew what he was doing. We loved cooking together though, teasing each other and having friendly competition. Kisame, of course, loved eating whatever concoction we managed to conjure up. I made a makeshift high-chair out of a stack of phone books and set the little girl down in it. She watched intently as Ita and I cooked together. I silently warned Ita not to ask the girl for her name and the three of us talked and joked and laughed. We felt like a real family.

"You guys are funny!" the girl giggled, spitting out some of her food as she did so. I chuckled and shook my head.

"Keep your mouth closed, sweetheart," I scolded lightly, "and don't talk with your mouth full."

The girl sat up straight and stiff and gulped down her food, eyeing me with a straight face, but her smile crept back and she spat out a laugh.

Itachi chuckled as he eyed me curiously, "ooh, strict now, are we?"

"Hey! Table manners are important!" I responded.

"Yeah, says the one who couldn't get through ten minutes of dinner with my family!"

"Hey! That wasn't my fault!"

The little girl kept laughing, her giggles so full of joy. Ita and I smiled at the girl and then smiled at each other. Itachi reached over and kissed my cheek gently and I leaned into his chest. I could get used to this…

But then there came a knock on the door and I felt Ita's body stiffen.

"Something wrong?" I asked as Ita looked up, his eyes hardened. The girl noticed this and her giggles ceased. Confusion and worry fell over her features.

Itachi shook his head, "it's a little late for guests…" but he held me tight and as he spoke out loud he though to me, _*hide the girl and brace yourselves…its Pein…*_

I held my breath and nodded, "come on sweetie, let's get you ready for bed."

The girl whined and said, "but I'm not tired…"

I gave her a skeptical grin and said, "after all you've been through? I doubt that's true." I took the girl in my arms and she gave out a big yawn. Yeah…not tired, huh? I stepped into the bedroom and locked the door, pulling her clothes off and exchanging them for pajamas. Man, Ita even thought of pajamas? I narrowed my eyes and had a feeling that Itachi had some form of help when he was shopping. Itachi was a gentle man and had the fatherly touch, but when it came to girls, he was sorely lacking in a certain acuteness to the female mind and their needs that causes him to be completely oblivious to what are otherwise obvious things. It's gotten him into a lot of trouble with me plenty of times. Which is why I say Ita has the_ fatherly_ touch and not the _motherly_ touch.

I tucked the little girl under the covers and kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes to sleep. Around that time, Ita knocked on the door and said, "Ari, can you two come out?"

I groaned. Dammit, Ita, I just got her to bed! I picked the tired little girl back up and unlocked the door, but I froze as I saw Pein and Konan both eyeing me with mild disapproval.

Oh shit…

* * *

**Itachi**

"You were supposed to report to me immediately," Pein noted as he stepped in. Konan came in close behind. Itachi held his breath as he eyed Pein curiously. The man was tall, the Rinnegan intimidatingly powerful, and his skin looked almost like paper, as if he were a corpse.

"Forgive me, Leader, sir," Itachi bowed, "we ran into some…trouble…along the way."

"There is no need to explain, Itachi," Pein said, "I know everything. The rain showed me what happened."

"Hn," Itachi responded in acknowledgement. Of course…but Itachi had a bad feeling about this. For whatever reason, Pein didn't seem to care less about what happened to the orphans of this village. And the little girl Ari had saved seemed to scare even Mrs. Tanaka. Itachi had to admit there was something different about the girl, something not completely inhuman about her. The only other person Itachi had ever sensed that feeling with or seen that much discomfort from other people towards them was Ari. But that was because she was half—

Oh…oh no…

Itachi groaned internally, pursing his lips. Pein looked around the living quarters and then eyed the closed door.

"Why is she hiding in there?" he asked.

"She's putting the little girl to bed," Itachi explained.

"You know you aren't supposed to just take children off the street…especially not _her_. She's too dangerous," Pein noted.

"I am aware, sir," Itachi said, "but Ari…she has a one track mind. You can't convince her otherwise when she's decided on something."

Pein smiled at that, "an adamant woman…that certainly explains why she has stayed by your side after all these years. You two are lucky to have each other."

"Believe me, I know," Itachi sighed.

"Go get her," Pein said, "I want to meet her. And I want to see this child."

His heart pounding, Itachi knocked on the door and said, "Ari, can you two come out?"

In a few moments Ari stepped out holding the little girl who looked half-asleep, and by pissed look Ari was giving Itachi, he had a feeling she had just gotten the girl to bed. But Ari's expression changed when she saw Pein and Konan standing in the living room, waiting for her. Itachi took hold of her hand and led her closer to Pein.

Pein's eyes widened when he saw Ari, "Just as I thought…you're the woman who was looking for Sasuke Uchiha…"

Ari gave a polite smile and said, "long time, no see, Pein."

_*Lord Pein*_ Itachi correct her.

"Lord Pein," Ari correct herself.

"Indeed. It seems you have fared well in the past couple of years. How have you been?" Pein asked.

"Oh, can't complain," Ari shrugged, "I've been busy, you know, missions, stuff at home, this piece of work right here," Ari pointed at Itachi as she cracked the joke. To Itachi's surprise, Pein gave a small smile.

"And now this child," he pointed out. Ari's face fell and her body stiffened as she nodded. Pein continued, "now, normally outsiders are not welcome in the Rain Village, especially not from the Leaf…" Pein paused to shoot Ari a glare. Ari in turn gulped hard and held her breath. Pein continued, "I must admit, I'm surprised that despite everything, you still stand at Itachi's side."

"Well, it's as I told you when we last met," Ari explained, "though I love the village, I am a wandering spirit. I bare no grudges over people I never met, nor grudges against people caught in political strife."

_*Ari!*_ Itachi hissed, drawing in a sharp breath. He clutched Ari's hand tightly, his heart racing, and his body began to tremble.

"Political strife?" Pein asked, his interest peaking.

"Y-yeah," Ari's voice shook as she tried to make up for her slip of tongue, "well, I'm sure you heard from Ita here…the Leaf and the Uchiha both had issues. Both the clan and the village can be so arrogant sometimes…real slave drivers looking for their own personal gain. I admit, I get really annoyed with it, but poor Ita was caught in the middle of everything. You can't blame him for what he did. I would have done the same thing if my clan or my village were exploiting me the way they did him. I mean, that is kind of why most shinobi go rogue. No one is perfect."

"You make an interesting point," Pein noted, nodding his head, "although Itachi never gave his reasons for leaving the Leaf Village, but I can understand why he felt the need to destroy his clan. Such arrogance and hatred gets so tiresome after a while…"

Itachi sighed in relief, his cover not blown after all.

_*sorry…*_ Ari thought quietly.

_*It's alright…but thanks for the save,*_ he responded.

"Well, Lord Pein, you've met Ari, is there anything else you need?" Itachi asked, trying to be respectful. He wanted nothing more than to get this meeting over with and get the hell out of this village.

"Well, yes, but there is just one more thing I must ask her," Pein said. He then turned his attention to Ari and asked, "Why are you helping this child? Is it because she is like you?"

Ari's eyes widened in surprise as she looked down at the girl who was now asleep in her arms, she then looked back at Pein and said, "Well, sir, I don't quite know what you mean. I don't know your village's customs and I apologize if I have broken any rules, but my heart broke at the thought of no one helping this dear child. A child is a child, no matter where they came from, right?"

"Indeed that is true," Pein noted, "but surely you realize that she is different from other children. Much like you were…much like jinchuuriki are…"

Ari narrowed her eyes and turned away from Pein slightly, shielding the girl with her own body as she asked, "What are you trying to say?"

"Well, you are the child of the Kyuubi," Pein stated, "and yet you raised and nurtured your father's jinchuuriki. Don't you feel as if you betrayed your father?"

Ari glared at Pein, saying nothing. Itachi wasn't sure Ari even knew how to respond to that. He wasn't sure Ari had an answer. She didn't seemed to know why she made the decisions she did. Ari had incredible instincts, that most of the time led her in the right direction. Over the years, Itachi had learned not to question Ari's instincts, but when someone like Pein asked for her reasoning, he wondered how Ari would even be able to answer his question.

"I don't need to explain to you or anyone why I make the decisions that I do," Ari explained in a hardened voice, "have you ever had to weigh the lives or needs of the two most precious things in the world to you? Have you, Pein?"

At that, Pein gave Ari a startled look. Ari bared her teeth and answered, "I do that just about every day with Naruto. With Ita. With the village. The things I love the most in this world go together like oil and water, they aren't supposed to mix. And yet I am like the spoon that stirs the solution together. It's not an easy job, Pein, let me tell you. But I love each and every one of the people who have come into my life. I love Naruto, but I also love my father. I love my mother and my family, but I also love the village that sealed my father away, killed my mother, and began the hunt for my aunts and uncles. And most of all, I love Itachi, even if he did flee the village, even if he did kill the Uchiha, even if that clan did produce Madara, the one who began my suffering in the first place. I don't care how they are tied to each other, everyone deserves love and I wish nothing more than to give it to those who have accepted me for me. Do I need to make myself any clearer?"

"It's an interesting answer," Pein noted, "but what if the Akatsuki were to hunt down the jinchuuriki and kill them? What if your fiancé was the one ordered to bring in Naruto Uzumaki, rip your father out of him, and then destroy your father as well? What would you do?"

"I'd kill you first," Ari replied. Itachi eyed Ari, stunned. Did she have any idea what she was saying? Ari took a deep breath and said, "if you were out of the picture, then Itachi wouldn't have orders to follow. And Naruto wouldn't have to die."

"So you would hate me," Pein stated.

Ari shook her head, "no. I wouldn't hate you. I would hate the fact that I would have to kill you. But I won't kill Itachi, and I won't sit idly by and watch Naruto and my father both be killed senselessly."

"I see," Pein remained silent for a long moment before he finally asked, "now what of this half-breed girl in your arms? What do you plan to do with her?"

"Take her with me," Ari answered, "like I said, everyone deserves love, and I will give that to them. I will give that to her. I don't care where she came from; she's a little girl who needs me."

"Very well," Pein said, "you may take her with you. Leave tomorrow, and protect this child with your life. That is what you have vowed to do after all as her mother…"

With that, Pein and Konan left. Itachi closed the door behind him and let out a heavy sigh. Thank goodness that was over. But as he thought long about that conversation, his anger started boiling up inside of him. What had Ari just done?

He turned back to face Ari who now stared down at the girl slightly dumbfounded. She had jumped at the word "mother", and her face had paled. Itachi glared at Ari, "Well, I hope your happy! Way to go, Ari!"

"Hey!" Ari snapped back in a hushed voice, "don't get mad at me! You're the one who sprung this on me all the sudden! How was I supposed to know how this would end?"

"That's why I told you to stay close to me and do exactly as I told you!" Itachi whispered harshly back, "but did you listen? No! You never do! You just had to waltz outside and chase after that girl because you're some kind of saint who absolutely has to help everybody!"

"Some kind of saint?" Ari glared at Itachi, her face paled and her eyes got a little bloodshot. Itachi's words had hurt her, and part of him felt guilty. Ari continued, "Well I am sorry that my childhood sucked! I'm sorry I spent most of my life alone! And I'm sorry I wanted to help out _my family_!"

"Your what?" Itachi's eyes widened as he shouted, waking the little girl up. Her eyes fluttered open and she yawned. Ari shot Itachi a nasty glare before she looked back down at the girl, her eyes soft.

"What…happened?" the girl yawned.

Ari stroked the girls hair and kissed her cheek saying, "sorry, did we wake you? Don't worry about it, you just got back to sleep."

"Okay," the girl mumbled and closed her eyes. Itachi watched as Ari tucked the little girl into bed. Part of him yearned to be by Ari's side, kissing the little girl goodnight, but in that moment, he didn't feel it was his place to. Not yet.

Ari stepped out of the room and closed the door before she sat down on the couch in the living room, crossing her arms, "Itachi…" she began, "Pein wasn't kidding when he made the comment that she was like me…"

"Just what exactly do you mean?" Itachi asked, confused.

"About three years ago, my aunt, the Two-Tails, came to me for help," Ari explained, "this was just before you returned to the village…she had fallen in love with the man who was her jinchuuriki. He freed her from his seal and they conceived a child together. Since then, Auntie Tabi was resealed, and her newborn child had been supposedly killed when they found her but…"

"But," Itachi finished for Ari, his chest hollow, "you think that this little girl in the bedroom is that child."

"She has her mother's eyes," Ari explained, her eyes gazing at the floor, focused on a memory that only she could see. She sighed heavily, "Ita…you have to understand, I can't help but feel this incredible need to help her, protect her. I'm all she has in this world!"

Itachi frowned, kneeling down beside Ari as he took her hand, "That's not true," he said, "she has me too, remember?"

Ari looked up at Itachi with hopeful eyes, "You really mean that?"

Itachi smiled and said, "of course! We're the Ultimate Tag Team, aren't we?"

Ari's lips quivered, a big smile spreading across her face and she threw her arms around him saying, "Thank you!"

After that, Ari and Itachi changed and got ready for bed. With on bed in the small apartment, Ari and Itachi crawled into bed on either side of the little girl. Ari slept holding the little girl close to her. Itachi watched the two, his arm wrapped around both of him. He closed his eyes as he drifted to sleep thinking, "for as long as I have left, I will stay by your side…and when I die, I will look after you, I will guide you and carry you in my arms for always…"

* * *

**Ari**

We got up early in the morning and left the village before the rest of the world woke up. Itachi carried the sleeping little girl bundled up inside his cloak, shielding her from the cold rain. We stepped back into the Land of Fire around midmorning as the sun rose slowly into the sky. At around that time, the girl finally awoke and looked around, confused.

"It's not raining anymore…" she mumbled. Itachi set her down and she walked around on her little legs.

"We left the Rain Village," I explained, "and we're taking you home."

"Home?" she asked still confused.

I nodded, "we're from a place called the Village Hidden in the Leaves, also known as Konoha. That's where I live now, and we're taking you there to live with us."

The little girl's lips quivered and tears threatened to bubble out of her precious little eyes, "you mean…I don't have to be alone anymore?"

I shook my head, taking her into my arms, "Of course not, sweetie. You'll never be alone again. Of course, I still don't know your name; will you please tell me what it is?"

At that, the girl started crying even more, "Well…I don't have a name…they all said that I was a monster…!"

"A monster?"I asked, my heart breaking at the thought of what this child must have gone through, "now why would they say that?"

"They said that my mommy…that my mommy was some sort of demon with two tails…and that I should have died but the lady that my mommy was sealed into brought me to the village…but they said I didn't deserve to live…I don't even have a name!" the girl cried into my shoulder and I looked at Itachi. He too wore a sad expression as he looked down at the girl. As heartbroken as he story made me feel, an insurmountable amount of happiness welled inside me. This was her…this was my baby…!"

"But sweetheart," I hushed her, stroking her hair, "you do have a name. It was given to you before you were born."

My little flower rubbed the tears off of her face and she looked up at me confused. "I do…?" she asked.

Ita also gave me a weird glance as I turned to face him. With a smile on my face and hiding back the tears I said, "Yes. In fact, long ago, before you were born, your mother came to me with a little blossom growing inside of her. She feared that the world wouldn't understand the love from which her baby came, and she knew that she would soon be sealed away. She had asked me to take care of this flower when she had passed. And through love, not blood, Itachi and I became parents," I paused and stared into Itachi's eyes for a long time. His eyes widened and began to tear up as he realized what I was saying. I looked back down at my little flower and said, "and do you know what we named her?"

"What?" the little girl asked.

I smiled, my voice cracking as I answered, "your name is Hana. Do you like it?"

Hana stared at me with big eyes, a teary smile spreading across her face as she threw her arms around me crying, "You're my mommy!"

I hugged Hana tightly and walked towards Ita who still looked dumbfounded. I said to Hana, "of course you do! And you have a Daddy! In fact, he is the one who named you…"

Hana looked over at Ita and reached her arms out to him giggling and crying at the same time. Itachi let out a laugh as tears began to pour out of his eyes. He took her in his arms as he cried and whispered into her ear, "My little wild flower!"

And just like that, our little family which began with what seemed to be an impossible dream took form in a little miracle. Suddenly, I had become a mom, and Itachi had become the dad of a little girl he always wanted.

And we had finally found our little wild flower.


	15. Chapter 14: The Hunt for Jinchuuriki

Aha! Two chapters in one day! I am officially awesome! ^_^ *does happy dance* well anyway, this one isn't quite as cute as the last...actually it's kind of a downer...(because really, anything is a downer compared to meeting your long lost adopted daughter when you're Itachi and Ari! XD) But anyway, hope you enjoy this one! And be on the look out for a Valentine's Day Special next week! I'm posting it separately from this story, but it will be full of Itachi and Ari and Hana and uber cuteness so keep your eyes open! :)

Well, anyway,

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

Only once did Itachi "forget" to take his pills when he was out on a mission after Hana came home, and with an energetic three-year-old who had her daddy firmly wrapped around her little finger, Itachi never ever worried me with his recklessness again.

Granted, other, much more terrifying things came up, but we aren't quite there yet.

Hana would wait expectantly at the door when she knew either Ita or I were supposed to come home from a mission. As soon as either one of us walked through the door, she would leap into the air squealing, "MOMMY!" or "DADDY!" as loud as she could. She lit up our world when she would do that. But when Itachi came home one day, the life nearly drained out of him, Hana jumped on him and nearly knocked him over.

"Ita!" I cried out, running over to the two, "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Itachi panted, averting my gaze. He looked so much worse than I had ever seen him when he skipped his meds.

"How many doses did you skip this time?" I asked, alarmed. Hana glanced up at me nervously and released her bear-hug from her father. Despite her young age, Hana was incredibly smart and very mature. We couldn't tell her everything, but she knew and understood a great deal about why Itachi couldn't go into the village with us and what his heart condition meant.

Itachi shook his head, staggering to stay on his feet, "just one…why, do I look as bad as I feel?"

Not believing him, I motioned for him to show me the pill bottle. He pulled it out and I opened it. Sure enough, there were only three pills in there. This was bad.

"I'm taking you to the doctor," I said quickly.

Eyeing Hana's concerned and teary eyes, Itachi looked up at me and smiled, "Ari, I'm fine. I think my body is just getting a little too used to the medicine is all."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "what are your symptoms?"

"Well I'm tired, and I feel like I have a mild case of heartburn, but that's a given," Itachi explained, "my head is killing me though and I feel like I could barf at any moment…"

I sighed heavily. That sounded like withdrawal alright. As I feared, his body had gotten addicted to his heart medicine. But, that was much better news than I was prepared for. I led Ita into the kitchen and sat him down to make lunch. Hana followed closely behind us carrying her stuffed bunny, Tim-Tim. As soon as Itachi sat down, she jumped in his lap. Itachi gasped as she did, "Oof!" I looked behind and noticed his face growing paler.

"Hana, be careful, your father's not feeling well," I scolded her. Hana sighed heavily and looked up at Itachi.

"Daddy? Are we still gonna be able to play later?" she asked.

Sighing heavily, Itachi smiled and said, "I don't know, Hana, I'm feeling kind of sick but I'll try. If not, then maybe some other time, okay?"

I laughed under my breath as he spoke to Hana much like he spoke to Sasuke when he was little. Oh, how I missed those times…

I made the two lunch and started pumping fluids into Itachi to try and get him to feeling better. He took four pills to make up for his skipped dose and we went upstairs to do the medical jutsu. When I had finished, the color was already returning to his cheeks and he sat up, still looking exhausted.

"Feeling better?" I asked.

Ita smiled and said, "Much. Thank you."

"Yay!" Hana cheered, leaping onto Ita, "We can play now, right, Daddy?"

"Uh…" Ita started, smiling nervously. The first thing Hana wanted to do when either of us came home from missions was to play, and as much as it would break her heart to hear the two-letter 'n' word, Ita just wasn't up for playing.

"Sorry, sweetie," I said, doing what Itachi could never do, "Daddy still isn't feeling good. He needs to go upstairs and take a nap."

Hana looked up at Ita with sad eyes as she pouted, "But _Daaad_! You promised you'd play with me when you got home!"

Ita looked from Hana to me and back as he started to cave. He had gotten soft since when Sasuke was little, "Well…I guess I could try to—"

"Nope!" I said, "Ita, you look like crap. No playing for you until you're feeling better!"

Both Hana and Itachi deflated at that. Hana let go of Ita and placed her hands on her hips, scolding him, "Daddy, are you feeling sick because you didn't take your medicine?"

Ita knelt down by Hana and said, "Yes, Hana. I'm sorry, but I'll play with you when I'm feeling better, okay?"

Instead of the typical distraught "okay…" that Sasuke normally gave (which I'm sure Ita was expecting), Hana glared at Ita and shook her finger at him, "Bad Daddy! Didn't Mommy tell you to always take your pills? You better not skip on any next time you leave or else you won't be able to play with me when you get home and then I will be mad!"

At that, Ita's jaw dropped and he jumped back, his feelings hurt, "Uh…okay! I'm sorry!"

I spat out a laugh and bent over, holding my sides. I was laughing so hard I had started crying. Ita shot me a glare, his face red as he turned to go to our room and sleep. Hana looked up at me with a mischievous grin on her face. "Someone had to tell him!" she said.

"I heard that!" I heard Ita call out from our room.

I wiped a tear out of my eye and I gave Hana a high-five, "nice work, kiddo!"

Hana giggled and hugged Tim-Tim tightly. The little booger was definitely related to me. She was just as ruthless as I was!

Hana also adored Kisame. Well, she adored making fun of him at least.

"Fishy!" she squealed when he walked through the front door one morning, running up to give him a hug. Kisame shot me a death glare.

"I didn't teach her that!" I said.

Kisame rolled his eyes but knelt down and said, "Hi, Hana! But you know my name is really Kisame…"

Hana shook her head, "but you look like a fish. Oh! Can I call you Nemo?"

Hana's favorite movie was Finding Nemo, I think mostly because it made her think of her favorite blue Uncle. Kisame grimaced and told Hana, "no."

"What about Gill? You kind of act like him."

"No."

"Marlin?"

"No."

"Not even Bubbles?"

"NO!"

"Oh! But you look more like a shark! How about Bruce?"

"What kind of name is Bruce?"

"It's the name of the shark! Oh! Oh! You can be Dory! She's blue like you are!"

"Okay, Ari Jr.! How about you and your mom can discuss what other ridiculous nicknames you can conjure up for me!" Kisame held Hana up in his arms and set her down on the kitchen counter next to me.

"Calm down, Spongebob, she's just having some fun!" I retorted back at him as Kisame stormed downstairs to his domain.

"That's Jaws, for you, missy!"

"So your name isn't Kisame then?"

"Uggggh…."

At about that point, Itachi came down the stairs, laughing at the conversation he had overheard. He was fumbling with his shirt as he tried to put it on. I frowned, Itachi had been losing weight lately…he was all muscle as it was and as of late…that literally was all he was. He was starting to look a little frail. You couldn't tell at first glance, I don't think Kisame had even noticed the change, but I had known Ita long enough to realize that something was off…I just hoped that it didn't have to do with his heart.

"Hey, you two," he scolded lightly, chuckling, "be nice to Jaws, I mean Kisame."

"HEY!" Kisame called back up from downstairs. Hana let out a loud giggle. Shaking his head and smiling, Itachi came over to me and planted a big kiss on my lips. He wrapped my arms around my waist and kissed down my neck. I squealed as it tickled. Hana stuck her tongue out and looked away.

"Eww, gross, Daddy!" she teased. Ita chuckled but ignored her. I wrapped my arms around him as he kissed me, his hands drifted to the waist line of my pants.

"Ita…" I said, laughing lightly, "what has gotten into you?"

Ita shrugged as he pulled away eyeing me up and down, "I don't know…I just came down the stairs thinking about how lucky of a man I was and then I looked up and found myself hypnotized by your beauty."

I rolled my eyes, "smartass…"

Hana covered her mouth and pushed in a laugh and Ita shot me a glare. I had been trying to watch my language since Hana came home but…hey…Ita started it!

"Say what you want but it's true!" Ita said, a sly smile on his face. He then picked Hana up off the counter, lifting her high in the air as she squealed. He then brought her close to his face and gave her a raspberry on her tummy as Hana laughed and screamed wildly.

"Inside voices!" I hushed. Hana smiled brightly and she covered her mouth.

"Sorry," Ita said, his voice muffled as his lips were still pressed against Hana's belly, "my fault."

I groaned but smiled, "yep. That one's your fault alright."

After Hana spent "what felt like hours" begging, I finally agreed to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. I worked on the pancakes while Ita scrambled some eggs and mixed together a fruit salad. The smells eventually drew Kisame out of his man-cave and he took a seat at the table. I had Hana wash her hands before breakfast and then helped her into her high-chair. All four of us sat at the table eating in silence.

"So Naruto should be coming back home soon, shouldn't he?" Ita asked out of the blue. I looked up at him, swallowing a pancake and nodded.

"Yeah. He gave me a call last night, actually. Said he would be home next week," I answered.

"Are you going to take Hana back to meet him?" he asked. I chewed slowly, thinking about it. Huh…that hadn't even crossed my mind yet. Hana knew all about Naruto and Sasuke from the stories Ita and I had told her as we put her to bed at night and from the pictures in the scrapbook that I showed her. I had been so busy lately though, I hadn't even thought about going back to Konoha to be honest…

As Ita said that, however, Hana bounced up, standing in her high chair, "I wanna meet Uncle Naruto!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," I said, "and sit down, you'll fall and hurt yourself. But yeah, I guess I'll take her to Konoha. She'd love Naruto." I sat back in my chair, thinking about Naruto. The first thing he'd probably do when he got back to the village was eat at Ichiraku's with Iruka, then after visiting several of his friends, he'd eventually wander his way over to my house for dinner. And then, after finally remembering that bet he made with me, he'd ask to fight me and test his strength. I smiled to myself…how was he going to react when he saw Hana? I didn't know, but I figured Hana would eventually win Naruto over and he would become the goofy, easy-going favorite uncle to Hana like Uncle Hashirama was to me. I never saw him much, but he was a really fun, and really nice guy. He even got my dad to laugh a couple of times!

"Hana," I said, "you want to meet your Uncle Naruto next week?"

"Do I ever!" Hana said, a big smile on her face. I sighed, chuckling as we finished breakfast. I took Hana upstairs to help her get dressed and Ita followed close behind. I had a feeling that Naruto's homecoming wasn't the only thing he needed to talk to me about…

"So Ita," I said, "I got a letter in the mail when I was at my apartment the other day. It was a post card from the Academy…they offer preschool classes and day care. I figured one of these days, we're both going to be on a mission at the same time, and I think it'd be good for Hana to meet some kids her age. Kids can start when they're four and a half or five, and I was thinking about signing her up next school year. She'll be old enough by then."

"Four and a half? That early?" Ita asked, a perplexed look on his face. He looked down at Hana as I pulled her pajama shirt off. She ran over to the closet and pulled out the pink dress Ita had picked out for her the day we met her. Hana had put on weight since she had been living with us and hit a growth spurt so the dress fit her perfectly and she loved wearing it. I was amazed at Hana's progress. She had gone from a skeletal, frightened little thing, to a normal healthy kid in just six months. I felt she was ready for the next step and learn how to play with kids and not just her slightly dysfunctional parents. Ita, on the other hand, looked a little anxious at the thought of turning his little girl over to a teacher he didn't even know. "But…she's still a little…small for that…don't you think?"

"She's as big as any other kid her age, Ita," I said, "and she needs some friends her age. I was only a little older than her when I met you, Saya, and Shisui. And you had those two to play with since before you were even potty trained!"

"Well, yeah," Ita said, "but I come from a big family. They're my cousins…"

"Ita," I said, "it's okay to let your daughter go a little bit."

Ita grimaced and looked away, a pained expression on his face as he crossed his arms. My face fell when I saw him. Hana truly was Daddy's Little Girl... Hana wriggled her dress on and ran over to Ita, patting his leg.

"It's okay, Daddy!" she said, "you don't need to be sad! I'll have lots of fun playing with new friends! Don't you worry!"

Ita sighed heavily and knelt down as he pulled her into a big hug, "you don't have to grow up, you know. You can just stay our little flower forever if you want!"

Hana giggled lightly, "But Daddy! I have to grow up someday!"

Ita let go of Hana and smiled, "you're right sweetie. It's just hard to let happen sometimes!" he kissed her cheek and Hana ran out of her room to go play with her toys. Ita sat back on the floor, leaning against the wall. He gazed up at the ceiling, his eyes watery. I got down on the ground and crawled next to him, quietly closing the door and sat cross-legged. Itachi sighed heavily and muttered, "can we just go back to when she was a baby…? Please?"

"Ita," I said softly, in partial disbelief, "first off, we didn't even know her when she was a baby. And second, it's been six months!"

"Six months that went by really fast," he said. He then looked down on the ground, his expression darkening, "and besides…life is so short…it just keeps getting away from me when all I want is to stay here…stay with you and Hana…grow old and live happily in the village…"

"Itachi, where is all this coming from?" I asked, slightly alarmed, "come on, you're twenty-one for crying out loud!"

"But I feel like I'm eighty!" he groaned, "well…I don't feel like an old man, I just…I feel stretched, I feel like I can't do the things I used to…I can't even have sex with you…I sometimes just wonder…how long will I even be able to live?"

"Itachi Uchiha," I said in a low voice. Now he was starting to really scare me, "is there something wrong?"

Itachi jumped out of his trance and shook his head, "No."

I narrowed my eyes, "Itachi…if your condition was getting worse…if you were dying, would you tell me?"

"Hmmm…"

"Would you tell me?" I asked again, raising my voice. I grasped hold of his shirt collar and shook him lightly.

"Of course I would," Ita said, looking me in the eye. I relaxed and sighed in relief, but then Ita said, "you would have to give me time to tell you, though. You know how I am, I hate worrying you."

At that, my expression hardened, "just how long would you need?"

Itachi kissed my lips gently and said, "I don't know. But Ari, you can have my word that I would tell you if I were dying."

I crossed my arms and eyed him skeptically, "I just hope you wouldn't tell me when you were on your deathbed and it was too late. Look, I just want you to be honest with me, okay? And sometimes, honesty isn't exactly one of your strengths. The shinobi world got the best of you a bit when they made you a double-agent, you know that?"

Itachi grimaced, sighing heavily as he stroked my cheek. Grimly, he said, "I know. Believe me, I know. And I'm sorry…just try to understand that I do the things I do to protect the people I love most. I've made some mistakes along the way, some really big mistakes, but I'm trying, Ari. I really am."

"And I know you are," I said gently, kissing Ita, "I just want you to know that you can come to me if something were wrong."

Itachi smiled and pulled me close. I rested my head on his chest and listened to his soothing heartbeat. As soothing as it was…it was a little too rhythmic for my taste as a medic.

"But Ari," Itachi said, "I will have to be going out on a mission here pretty soon. Pein is gathering the Akatsuki."

I sat up, eyeing Ita, "what for?"

Itachi shrugged and explain, "let's just say, Deidara and Sasori are on the move. Go back to Konoha and spend some time with Naruto before you guys are called in for your own mission…you might need to find a babysitter if I'm not back in time."

"Ita…" I glared at him, "elaborate. Please."

"Ari, I need you to stay calm," Ita said, pressing his hands on my shoulders.

"I'm calm," I said.

"Well stay that way," Itachi warned. I shrugged, awaiting for him to talk and then just about had a heart attack when he said, "Deidara and Sasori were sent out to capture the Shukaku."

"WHAT?" I screamed, leaping to my feet. I bolted down the stairs and ran to gather my shinobi gear. Hana shrieked at the noise and chased after me.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" she asked.

"Ari! I told you to stay calm!" Itachi yelled at me.

"I AM CALM!" I screamed back.

"Then what is your definition of calm?" he groaned.

"NOT BLOWING THAT GOD AWFUL CAVE YOU GUYS HIDE IN TO KINGDOM COME!" I roared. Hana watched me, holding Tim-Tim tightly, horribly confused. Kisame made his way up the stairs to where we were, covering his ears as I screamed and stomped around.

"I take it you finally told her? Huh…I thought she'd be a little more upset than…raging…" Kisame groaned, "You know, Ari, I never know what to expect from you…"

"Finally? FINALLY? How long has this plan to hunt the Bijuu been going on?" I screamed, glaring at Ita who backed away from me, his eyes wide.

Behind me I heard Kisame let out a long groan, "Wait, _that's_ what you're stomping around about? ITACHI!"

"I'M WORKING ON IT!" Ita roared back.

"Oh? So there's more?" I growled, "What else do you need to tell me? Huh? What, is this whole fiasco with your heart just a dumb-downed version that you've been keeping stuff from me and really you've had this problem since you were a kid? Huh?"

Ita's face paled and he glanced over at Kisame before he looked back at me and said, "you need to calm down!"

"Why aren't you answering me?" I screamed at him, swiping his hand away.

"Because you didn't ask me a question!" he protested.

"Well then fine! I'll ask you then!" I roared. Our shouting match came to an abrupt halt, however, when I heard soft whimpers coming from Hana. I looked down to see her staring up at us, tears coming out of her eyes. My heart broke to see her so upset and I felt horrible because I knew that was my fault. I knelt down and said, "Oh sweetie…I'm sorry you had to hear that…"

"Why are you guys fighting?" she whimpered, "don't you love each other?"

"Yes, yes, we do," I said softly, "Daddy and I love each other very much…it's just sometimes, we don't always agree with things and, well, you know I have a bad temper, which I hope you never get from me by the way, but at the end of the day, we still love each other and nothing will ever change that. I'm sorry, Hana…"

Hana nodded and held me as she whimpered softly. I looked back at Ita sadly to find him glaring at me and crossing his arms.

"My fault," I admitted.

"Damn right it is," he grumbled back. He then sighed and knelt down next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry, Ari."

"Me too," I said, "but this conversation's not over."

"Understood," he said, "postponed to a later date when we're both calm and collected and being mature adults."

I rolled my eyes, "so in other words, this conversation is postponed indefinitely."

"Well, I didn't mean it like _that_," Ita said in a goofy tone. Hana let out a giggle while still in my arms. She sat in my lap and I held her tightly as we sat on the couch upstairs.

"So…they really are hunting the Bijuu after all," I said, holding my breath, "I had a feeling that's what Pein was planning when he sent you and Kisame after Naruto but…I thought that plot fell through…"

Ita nodded, "well, if it makes you feel better, they're going in order by the number of tails…so at least Naruto will be safe for the time being."

I held Hana close, trembling as I shook my head. I had gotten to know the Sand's jinchuuriki Gaara in recent months. He had become the Kazekage. He was a sweet kid…I hoped he could fight his pursuers off. And Uncle Shukaku…well…he was kind of a drunk asshole but he was still family…but if they were going in order by tails then…

"Aunt Tabi will come next," I said, alarmed, "after Shukaku."

Ita let out a heavy sigh and nodded his head, "that's assuming everything will go according to plan."

Hana stiffened in my arms and looked up at Ita and me. She knew what that meant. "But…" Hana said, her voice shaking, "Auntie Tabi is my…"

"It's okay, Hana," Ita stroked her hair, "we won't let anything bad happen to Auntie, okay?" Hana nodded her head feebly, clutching Tim-Tim tightly as she leaned her head against my chest. Ita then looked up at me and said, "I'll be gone for a few days with Kisame to make preparations at the rendezvous point since we're the closest to it, but that will only be a day or so so I'll be back by tomorrow night. I already gave Jiraiya the coordinates of the hideout if Gaara does get captured. If that happens, Kisame and I will stay around here to do the sealing, so if you're called in, I can at least watch over Hana."

"Ita, I don't like this," I muttered, as if it would change anything, "I don't like this at all."

"I know," Ita said in a low voice, "I don't like it either. But we'll get through this, just like we always have."

I nodded and he kissed my forehead, and then kissed Hana's. He stood to head to our room and said, "I have to get ready to go now, I'll let you know when I leave."

I got up to get my things together as well so I could head over to Konoha. Hana attempted to pack her things in her pink backpack, making sure to bring her favorite toys and only the prettiest dresses. I stepped in to check on her, later on in the day and chuckled to myself before I helped her pack everything else that she needed for the stay in Konoha. I had her things divided between the house and the apartment, but certain things she had to have with her at all times. Like Tim-Tim, for example.

When we were ready to leave, I packed Kisame and Ita both some lunches and tucked Ita's travel bottle of medications in his lunch. I gave them their food, which they gladly accepted. Ita pulled me into a tight embrace before we parted, "everything will be okay," he whispered.

"I know," I said back. We then shared a kiss and Ita knelt down to give Hana a big hug.

"Remember to take your medicine, Daddy," Hana said, "or else we won't be able to play!"

Ita chuckled and poked Hana's forehead, just like he did with Sasuke, "Don't worry, I won't forget. I haven't since you first came home, remember?"

"I just want to make sure," Hana smiled.

And with that, Itachi and Kisame left for their mission, and Hana and I left for Konoha to welcome my little blond-haired boy home. I wondered what Naruto looked like now. Had he grown at all? How strong was he? Was he still my little boy who would want dinner when he got home? I was about to find out.

* * *

**Naruto**

"Man, it's good to be home!" he cried out, standing atop a telephone pole in the center of the village. Naruto had paid several visits with all his friends, from Kakashi, to Sakura, Granny Tsunade, even Konohamaru. Naruto had also had lunch at Ichiraku's with Iruka Sensei!

But there was one person Naruto hadn't seen yet…

"You know, I think Ari's got dinner waiting for you," Pervy Sage said to him as Naruto walked the path that led both to his home and Ari's. He had been wrestling with the idea on whether or not to see her. Did she even remember him?

"How do you know?" Naruto asked, a little sad, "she hasn't come to see me yet…"

"Knowing Ari," Jiraiya began, "she was probably just giving you time to spend with your friends. There are a lot of people who've been dying to see you over these past three years. And she knows when she can always expect you at her house, right?"

Naruto smiled. Pervy-Sage was right! "Okay! Well, I'm off to dinner! See ya!"

Naruto jogged towards Ari's house and sure enough, as he drew close, he could smell Ari's stir fry recipe wafting through the streets. The lights were on in her apartment and he made a bee-line towards her house.

He paused though, and for a moment wondered if Ari had moved somewhere else, because a little purple-eyed girl stared out the window of Ari's apartment, watching Naruto confused. When she watched Naruto for a moment, the girl broke out into a huge smile as she left the window.

"Mommy! It's him!" he heard a small voice call out. Moments later, the little girl came bursting out the front door and leapt into Naruto's arms giggling, "Welcome home, Uncle Naruto!"

"Uncle Naruto…? What is this, some kind of joke, kid?" Naruto blurted out. He then looked up to see Ari peer her head out of the door.

"Hana!" she called out, "get back in here!" But then Ari looked up and saw Naruto and a small smile crept up onto her face, her eyes beginning to water. "Naruto!"

Ari ran up to Naruto and pulled him into a gentle hug. Relaxing in her arms, Naruto hugged her back and smiled, "I'm home…Ari…"

"Welcome back, kiddo," she said softly, "let me look at you!" Ari pushed Naruto away from her, holding his shoulders and keeping him and arm's length away from her. She twisted him slightly, eyeing him up and down. "Ooooh, you've gotten so handsome, Naruto! I'm going to have to fight the ladies off of you here, pretty soon!"

Naruto let out a goofy laugh and said, "yeah? You think so?"

"Just don't let that get to your head," Ari said, narrowing her eyes as she tapped the side of his head lightly. Naruto laughed but looked back down at the girl who beamed up at him.

"Who is this kid, anyway?" he asked, pointing at the girl.

"Oh, that's right; you two haven't met yet…" Ari said, picking the girl up. She looked a lot like Ari…her eyes were a different color and her hair was a lot lighter than Ari's, but there was still a resemblance. "Naruto, meet Hana. Hana, this is Naruto."

"Um…hey," Naruto said. So…what was Ari's relationship to this kid…?

Hana held her hand out to Naruto and smiled, saying, "Hi! Mommy says you're like her little brother, so I'm going to call you Uncle Naruto, okay?"

"M-m-mommy?" Naruto jumped back, shrieking. Ari raised an eyebrow, confused. Naruto continued, "Agh! I thought you said nothing was going on between you and Itachi! ARI!"

"And nothing is still going on, you idiot!" Ari scolded Naruto, smacking him upside the head. "Geez, does she even look like him to you?" Hana opened her mouth and started to answer the question, but Ari swiftly covered it and continued, "Look, going by blood relations, Hana is technically my cousin. However, her mother couldn't keep Hana safe and was sealed away, so she asked me to take her in. Yes, Hana is my daughter, but we like to say that she came to us by love, not by blood."

"Oh…" Naruto nodded his head, things slowly started to make sense. But as the gears started turning, Naruto caught wind of another thing Ari had said, "wait…when you say sealed away…what do you mean?"

Ari rolled her eyes, "into a jinchuuriki, genius."

Naruto eyed Ari, horribly confused. "What's a jinchuuriki?"

Ari's eyes widened and her mouth made an 'O' shape. She then gave Naruto a glare and said, "Naruto…do you not remember me going a little crazy during the last mission we were on together…?"

"Well, you kind of looked like the Nine-tails, but that was after I pumped you full of its chakra, so that's understandable!" Naruto said. He also remembered a few things that Ari and the Kyuubi had both mentioned, but he doubted any of that was true.

Ari gave Naruto a blank stare before she said, "Naruto…we have a lot to talk about…but let's have some dinner first.

After dinner, Ari put Hana to bed in her room and prepared the guest room for Naruto. The two then went to the living room and sat on the couch, Naruto stared blankly at Ari as she told him her story.

"Naruto…you should have realized by now that I am not entirely human," Ari said, her arms crossed.

"Eh? Of course you're human!" Naruto protested, "Sure, you're different and you're abnormally strong, but you're still human!"

"No, Naruto, I'm really not," Ari sighed, "I would've told you this sooner, but I honestly thought you knew by now. I'm only half human."

"Then what's the other half?" Naruto rocked back and forth uneasy, almost afraid of what Ari would say next.

"Bijuu," she said with a straight face, "or more specifically, I'm half Kyuubi."

"That…doesn't make sense…" Naruto said.

"Naruto, my father is the Nine-tailed Fox," she said. At that, Naruto's heart about stopped in his chest. His breathing quickened and his limbs went numb.

"What?" he asked.

"I understand if you're afraid of me," Ari said, "but I won't hurt you. I'm harmless."

Naruto lowered his voice, he almost felt hurt by the news, "I'm not afraid of you," he said, "but why?"

"Why what?"

"Why don't you hate me?"

Ari's eyes widened at the question, but then she gave Naruto a warm smile and placed her hand on his cheek, "Naruto, I have to admit, there was a time when I did hate you. I knew what you were from the start, I saw my father get sealed inside you. I feel horrible for feeling such a deep anger towards someone who was completely innocent…but that night when I walked up to you I…I don't know, I just looked into those big blue eyes of yours and I saw how lonely you were and I saw me. We had suffered for the same reasons. But Naruto you…you're the kind of person that can change people's view on life. All it takes is that goofy smile of yours and people come to like you instantaneously. You're impossible for anyone to hate."

"You really think so?" Naruto asked.

Ari chuckled and said, "of course! You're my little brother! I know you better than anyone."

At that, Naruto giggled, "well awesome! Wait…so when you said Hana was your cousin…"

"Her mother is the Two-Tailed Cat," Ari said.

"Oh…" Naruto said. Now everything made sense…

Yawning, Naruto went upstairs and crawled into bed. Instinctively, Ari went to tuck him in. Naruto gave her a weird look, "Ari, I'm not a kid anymore…"

"Sure you are," Ari said, kissing him on the forehead, "to me, you'll always be that little kid who came over for dinner."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but deep down, he felt very comforted by that thought. As long as Ari was around, he'd have someone to come home to and have dinner with… closing his eyes, Naruto fell into a deep slumber.

He was finally home.

* * *

**Ari**

Just as I had feared, Tsunade called me into her office just days after Naruto returned. When I stepped in, I was surprised to find Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto all waiting for me. As I joined the trio, Tsunade wasted no time briefing us on our mission, "the Kazekage has been captured."

I stood numb during the entire briefing. This really was happening afterall… Sighing heavily, I returned home to grab my things, and discovered one of Itachi's crows sitting on the window sill, eyeing me expectantly.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I said in a hurry. The crow looked around and poked its head in further and I said to it, "Kurenai is watching Hana right now. I'm on my way to get her!"

With that, the crow hopped a little bit and took off. I stuffed everything into my travel bag and packed Hana's bag for her. I then ran over to Kurenai's to pick up Hana.

"Hi, mommy!" Hana greeted, jumping into my arms, "how was your day?"

"It was good," I said, "now, we need to get going. Daddy's home now and he wants to see you. But we have to be quick because I have a mission to go on."

"Okay!" Hana said, taking her backpack from me.

"Thanks again, Kurenai," I said.

Kurenai smiled back to me and said, "don't mention it. But are you sure you don't want me to look after her for a few more days? It's hard being a single mom, especially with all these missions you're sent out on."

"Yes, I'm sure," I said, "Haru just got back from his mission and he's going to take her while I'm gone."

"Oh, I see, well tell him I said hi, okay? And take care!"

"Thank you!"

With that, I sprinted back to the house as fast as I could. I told Kakashi where I was going and said I would meet up with them on the road. As I walked into the front door, I set Hana down and she ran upstairs, looking for Itachi.

Ita came downstairs slowly, pale as ever, as Hana leapt into his arms. He looked up at me and panicked slightly, "you came home quick…"

"Yeah, I have a mission to get to," I said, "so how long is this sealing going to take?"

"Three days," he said, "but honestly, it doesn't take that much of my attention to get through it. I'll take care of Hana. Deidara and Sasori are still about two days away from the hideout so you still have time. Just act quickly."

"Itachi," I said, eyeing him suspiciously. He did not look well at all, "what's in your hand."

Ita's eyes widened and he set Hana down, "why don't you go in the living room and play, I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay!" Hana ran upstairs.

"Stay out of Mom and Dad's room for now, though!"

"I will!"

"What's in Mom and Dad's room…?" I asked Ita, narrowing my eyes.

"Ari, don't worry about it. I made a bit of a mess, but it's almost cleaned up and—"

"What kind of mess…?"

"Don't freak out on me if I tell you."

"I make no promises. And it's not 'if', you're telling me what's going on. How many doses have you skipped this time, Itachi?"

Grimacing, Itachi answered, "none."

My eyes widened and I ran up the stairs. I waltzed into our room and looked around. The room in general was a bit untidy but nothing out of the ordinary. I looked over and found the light on in the bathroom and made my way over there. Itachi followed close behind, holding his breath. What I found, I had completely unexpected. I backed away slightly as my knees buckled underneath me. I fought to stay standing. Most of it had been cleaned up, but the toilet was still covered in blood splatters, and there was a smear on the floor where it looked like Itachi had slipped and fallen. I glanced back at him and noticed a small bump forming on his forehead. My world suddenly started to fall apart as I realized that Ita's heart condition really was as bad as I had feared.

"How long have you been keeping this from me?"

"Ari, I—"

"HOW LONG?"

Ita pursed his lips and closed the door so Hana wouldn't hear us. Quietly, he said, "I was diagnosed with this when I was ten, okay?"

The room started spinning. I looked from the blood on the ground and back up at Ita. I grasped hold of his still clenched fist and pried it open to find his blood stains on that too.

"_Ten_? You've kept his from me for over a decade!"

"I kept it from you because the disease was under control," Itachi said, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, obviously it's not!" I screamed at him, "So you've really been lying to me all this time? Those meds you've been taking weren't just to prevent this disease from spreading, it was just to keep your symptoms down!"

Itachi looked away from me and frowned, "I was going to tell you—"

"When? On your deathbed?"

"For god sakes, Ari, LET ME FINISH FOR ONCE!"

I froze and backed away from Ita. That was the first time he had ever truly raised his voice at me. His roar was so loud the bathroom shook. I held my breath, hoping Hana didn't hear that. I nodded, fighting back tears and said, "Okay…go ahead. Explain yourself."

Itachi sighed heavily and paced back and forth, "This disease…it's genetic. My uncle had it and my mother and father both carried the gene for it. So, I ended up getting this. Sasuke's safe though. We had caught my condition when I was in the early stages of its progression and the medicine I had then kept it from getting worse. My parents didn't want to worry the rest of our family so we kept quiet. When I left the village though…well, those meds were really expensive. And when I was in the hospital a couple of years ago, well, back then I had reached the point where I would need an entire heart valve replaced, but Tsunade is the only person in the world who can do that kind of surgery."

"Ita!" I gasped, by this point I was crying, "then why don't we just tell Tsunade the truth? She's the Hokage! She can help you!"

"Ari!" Itachi grasped tightly onto my shoulders and looked me in the eyes, he fought back tears and said, "I think we both know that it's too late for me…"

I gasped out a few sobs, fear striking me in the core. This couldn't be happening…Ita, we…we had just started our family…we had just gotten engaged…our lives were finally started to come together again.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to force away the tears as I pushed him away. Despite the fact that my world was falling apart, there was still a world beyond our bathroom door, and I had a mission to attend to. I opened the bathroom door and said in a low voice, "This discussion isn't over, Itachi. We'll talk more when I get back. Just don't die on me before then, got it?"

"Understood," Itachi looked down at the ground. As I was about to step out of our room he then looked up and said, "Ari?"

"What?" I snapped back.

"I love you," he said.

"Do you?" I asked him. At that point, I only felt betrayed. He had lied to me so much I couldn't see how he could possibly love me.

At that, Ita's heart broke as he said, "more than you could ever know."

"Yeah, well, there are a lot of things I don't know, apparently," I barked back as I stormed out of our room, leaving him alone. I made it to the top of the stairs before guilt and grief overwhelmed me and I turned back, running to Itachi as I threw my arms around him, crying. "I just don't want to lose you…!" I cried, burying my face into his shoulder.

"I know," Itachi said, his voice shaking, "I don't want to lose you either…I'm so sorry, Ari. I'm so sorry…"

I pulled away from him and wiped my eyes, "well…at least you told me…" I whimpered, "I was honestly expecting to find out you were dying of heart failure after you had already died…"

"Ari, I would never do that to you," Ita said, frowning, "of course, my word isn't very trustworthy right now. I just didn't know how to tell you…I didn't want you to suffer any more because of me."

"My suffering isn't because of you, Ita," I said, "yes, it's hard. Yes, this isn't how I wanted things to turn out. But we have each other, and we'll get through this, just as we always do. It's just like the wedding vows, remember?"

Ita sighed as he recited, "for better or for worse…"

"In sickness and in health," I looked Ita in the eye, placing my hand on his cheek.

"Till death do us part," he finished in a solemn voice. I really had to fight back the tears on that one. Never in a million years had it ever occurred to me that Itachi's death was imminent. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had always known that this heart condition which sporadically came up on us two and a half years prior would end up being more serious than I had been told. But now, to know that he was actually dying…that I would actually lose him for good…I didn't know what I was going to do.

"Save your breath on that one," I said, more for my own comfort than his, "you can't get rid of me that easily and this discussion isn't even over. We'll talk more when I get back."

"Alright," Itachi said, "be careful."

"You too," I said. I then reached up to kiss him. I then pulled him into a tight embrace and we held each other for a long time, neither of us wanting to part. Finally, I let go and we held hands as we went to check on Hana. She was playing with her toys and telling stories, happy as ever, completely oblivious to the horrors that would await us in the coming months. In that moment, it was hard for me to believe that a happy ending could ever come out of this nightmarish tale. But miracles still await those who need them, even half-demons like me and Hana.

I gave Hana a kiss on the cheek and she hugged me tightly. I then kissed Ita again and began to walk out the door. I turned back before I left to watch Ita rolling on the floor, playing with Hana, the two as happy as ever. I sighed heavily and stepped out the door. That image of my daughter with her father, as happy as a girl could be, would eventually become the one thing that could comfort me at night.

I quickly met up with Naruto and his team, apparently I still looked a bit shaken when we met up because all three of them gave me quizzical looks. "Is something wrong?" Naruto asked.

I snapped out of my trance and shook my head, "no, not at all. Sorry, I was just thinking is all."

We had our work cut out for us when we made it to the sand. Gaara's brother, Kankuro, had been poisoned by Sasori, and Sakura quickly proved herself as a worthy and able medical ninja, extracting the lethal poison from Kankuro's body and deriving an antidote. We met one of the village elders, Granny Chiyo, and were quickly filled in on the situation. This sounded like more of a handful than we were anticipating. Three days had already passed since Gaara had been captured, which meant the sealing of Shukaku had already begun and we only had three days left to locate the Akatsuki hideout and save Gaara. I was glad Itachi had given Jiraiya the coordinates, which he had handed to Kakashi, but still…this was a bigger task than I had anticipated.

On our trip to locate the hideout, we received news that Guy's team had been dispatched and they were on their way to meet us. We ran through a forest, enroot to the hideout when, of course, we were brought to a screeching halt.

Kakashi saw him first, "everybody, STOP!"

Sakura, Naruto, Chiyo, and I all stopped, our eyes widened in shock as we discovered who was standing before us.

Naruto growled next to me and muttered, "I know you…Itachi Uchiha!"

"That's it! You're dead!" I screamed, my rage boiling over. I was going to kill him. Frist he lied to me, and now he was just going to leave Hana home alone? That bastard!


	16. Chapter 15: I Will Stand by You Always

**Itachi**

He really hoped it wouldn't take Ari too long to realize that it wasn't actually Itachi standing in front of her. At the same time, however, he was really glad that it wasn't his own body that was about to fight the raging half-Bijuu.

Itachi and Kisame sat high up in the mountains, about a mile or so away from the house so they could transmit their chakra better to the human puppets Sasori had created for them. Hana sat on Itachi's lap and bundled herself up inside of his cloak. She closed her eyes and puffed her cheeks out, trying to look serious as she mimicked her father's stance. Itachi opened one eye, dividing his vision between the battlefield with Ari's group and the little girl on his lap. At this point, Hana had grown tired and fallen asleep, still tucked inside his robe. Next to him, Kisame chuckled.

"She's a cute kid, I have to admit," Kisame said, "but man, Itachi, she's making you soft…say, how is Ari reacting to seeing you right now?"

"Just worry about your own fight, alright?" Itachi groaned, closing his eye and blocking out his surroundings. As his senses faded and transferred over to the battlefield, he heard Kisame break out into laughter.

"She's that pissed, is she?"

Itachi stared at Ari, who bared her teeth and crouched low to the ground. He gulped hard. "That pissed" didn't even begin to describe the expression she was giving him. He glanced over and observed the other four who stood before him. Kakashi and Naruto…well they certainly looked happier to see him than Ari did. And then there stood a pink-haired girl, that was the one who Ari sometimes helped out with training, right? What was her name…Sakura? And then the old woman finished the group, he had recognized her as one of the elders of the Sand Village, and Sasori's grandmother, Lady Chiyo.

"That's the one…" Lady Chiyo noted, "That's the child who wiped out his entire clan…"

Itachi fought hard to maintain a stoic expression, but he stated in a monotonous voice, "Kakashi, Naruto…Ari…it's been a while."

"Oh, shut up!" Ari spat back, taking a step forward. She drew her twin swords, holding one in each hand. Ari was a remarkable swordsmen, light on her feet and swift and efficient with her strokes. Among the nicknames she had obtained over the years, from Half of the Ultimate Tag Team, to Demon of the Leaf, one of her lesser known nicknames, Phantom Sword, Itachi thought actually suited Ari's fighting style much better than her other monikers.

"I wasn't enough for you, huh?" Naruto spat out suddenly, "You had to go after Gaara as well! I'll destroy every last one of you!"

Itachi didn't say anything, but lifted a hand, readying himself to fight.

Kakashi jumped at Itachi's movements, "Everyone, don't look him in the eyes!"

Itachi glared at Kakashi as he said that. Well it wasn't like he was going to put people under the Mongekyo Sharingan or anything…why were they all so jumpy?

Kakashi lowered his stance and explained to the group, "Itachi's jutsu is a visual jutsu. If you don't look him in the eyes, his jutsu can't take effect."

"Yeah, that I know," Naruto said in a low voice.

"Okay, but then what?" Sakura asked.

Ari lowered her stance before she pounced. She took off to attack Itachi, looking back at her group she said, "you guys can come up with whatever battle strategy you so desire! I'll take him first and you guys pay attention to his movements, got it?"

Readying himself, Ari leapt high into the air, as she spun around and then aimed her foot to kick him hard in the face. Itachi dodged her attack as she crushed the ground beneath her upon landing. Man, she was going at him with full force. Did she know that she wasn't fighting the real Itachi?

She then swung her sword, managing to cut Itachi's cheek. She aimed her other sword at his neck, but Itachi managed to block her other hand, holding her wrist tightly. "You asshole!" she cried out, and then in a hush whispered, she spat, "_Where in the hell is Hana?"_

Itachi's eyes widened and he groaned.

Nope…she didn't know, she was just that pissed off…

* * *

**Ari**

I didn't care what happened to Itachi at this point! He was a dead man!

"_Where the hell is Hana?_" I growled in a low voice. Ita's eyes widened in shock.

"Where do you think?" I spat back, "Ari, she's with me!"

"WHAT?" I roared. I then looked around. You mean to tell me that he _brought_ her with him? How stupid was he? "Itachi! You dumbass, where is she?"

"_Ari_," Itachi grimaced, "You aren't actually fighting me! This is a puppet with my chakra! Come on, use your head!"

I pulled away from Ita and we sparred for a brief moment. His scent was entirely different and his moves were off.

Oh. That made sense.

I took a step back and eyed Ita, my shoulders drooping as I lowered my swords. "Wait, so you didn't leave Hana home alone?"

"Why the hell would I do that?" Itachi yelled back a little loud, "What, do you think I'm some kind of idiot?"

"No," I laughed nervously. Well, yes…some genius prodigy can't even figure out how to change a diaper and kind of "forgot" to tell me that he was dying! Yes you're an idiot!

"Ari!" Naruto called behind me, "are you okay? You're not under a genjutsu areyou?"

I rolled my eyes and glared back at him, "just taking a breather!" I then turned back at Ita and sighed heavily, okay, what I thought was a crisis had been averted.

Ita began running towards me and made to attack me. As he did, he said, "I think we should fight now."

"No shit, Sherlock," I groaned back, "and don't think this isn't over with, I'm still mad at you!"

"I can tell," he whispered back, "Feel free to take out all your anger during this fight, but get it done quick because the Akatsuki are just stalling for time right now…and please…don't beat the real me up too badly…"

"I make no promises," I smirked, winking at him. We fought for a while longer; I beat the living crap out of him while Ita pretended to make jabs back at me. I started to grow tired…I guess I took out a little too much anger. I bounced back a little and Ita and I paused. I turned to the group…and they were still talking…

Chiyo was the one dragging things on, explaining the Sharingan to Naruto and Sakura like they had never fought one before. Which they hadn't. But man…could she talk any slower?

"What we're dealing with isn't any ordinary Sharingan," Kakashi interrupted Chiyo. Ita was pausing long enough to listen to what Kakashi had to say. Kakashi continued, "He uses Mongekyo Sharingan. It's far more powerful than any other visual jutsu. It only takes a second, but if he hits you with that jutsu, it'll be the longest second you ever lived…"

Ita and I looked over at each other and I had to suppress a dirty grin. That was all true, if you were his enemy at least…but if you're with your partner and you both are getting a little frisky, but _someone_ has a heart problem and you guys can't have any real fun while at the same time, a three year old running rampant around the house on top of that, well…a visual genjutsu could come in quite handy…

Itachi shot me a glare, knowing what I was thinking and I had to force my grin back down. Man, it was impossible to take Ita seriously in battle. Things could get tricky if I wasn't careful.

Kakashi continued, "time itself gets warped. What seems like a second in the real world can seem like hours or days for someone trapped inside the genjutsu."

I pursed my lips tightly to keep from laughing, more dirty thoughts forming in my head. Yeah, a really nice several hours or days, thank you! I looked over at Ita who was still glaring at me, but then cleared my throat and paid more attention to my group.

Kakashi was still talking, "I would know this, I wandered around in it for three days and lost consciousness for more than a week. It's not a genjutsu that can be broken just like that."

"That does sound tricky," Lady Chiyo noted, "what a troublesome fellow this is."

We all turned our attention to Ita, the air shifted as things got much more serious. I took a deep breath, ready to fight him for real this time.

"Very good, Kakashi," Ita said, "I see your sojourn in my Tsukuyomi wasn't wasted."

"Oh believe me, I learned something else as well," Kakashi said, causing Ita to jump slightly in surprise, "There's a price to pay for using that sharingan, isn't there? It exhausted you during battle and you had to quit before it was over. So in addition to using up a lot of chakra, you risk permanent damage to your eyes, don't you, Itachi? I wonder…just how much damage has already been done to your eyesight?"

Itachi lost his composure at that one, his eyes widening. I suppressed a mini heart attack as well and looked nervously at Ita. He avoided my gaze, obviously realizing he had forgotten to mention another very important piece of news about his suddenly declining health.

"Ita…!" I let out a low growl, my anger boiling up again. I clenched my fists, if he wasn't seriously dying on me, I would have beat the living shit out of him when I got back home. First he neglects to tell me that he's dying, and now he's apparently going blind? Agh! How many other secrets was I about to find out?

Thankfully for me, that was really pretty much it (minus the whole, steal your brother's eyes and get your sight back, ordeal, but that didn't really apply to our situation, but it made for a lovely surprise when Sasuke appeared before me later on blabbing about his Eternal Mongekyo!).

"Kakashi," Itachi lowered his voice, "could it be that you…?"

He didn't finish though and (still avoiding eye contact with me), lifting his finger, pointing at Naruto. "It's time you came with me, Naruto!" I looked over and saw Naruto stiffen up. He was caught under Ita's genjutsu already. Naruto suddenly started screaming and ran off to the side with his Rasengan, striking a tree. Sakura and Chiyo followed closely behind to break Naruto's genjutsu while Kakashi and I took off to fight Ita. As Ita and I made contact with each other in our sparring, we started bickering, exchanging our thoughts. Looking back, we were starting to sound like an old married couple…

I struck him from behind, but he managed to turn and block me.

_*Oh, I'm surprised you were able to block that, you know, considering you're blind!*_

_*I'm not blind, Ari! And I'm sorry, I literally had almost forgotten all about that. My vision's hardly gone at all since the Mongekyo awakened. The only time I ever really used it was three years ago when I came back to Konoha.*_

_*And last month! And for what, just some leisurely free for all?*_

_*Hey! It was one time! And Hana was sick, and it was a busy night, and you were wearing nothing but a towel!*_

_*Because I took a shower!*_

_*You were lying on our bed waiting for me.*_

_*Well sorry, I wanted a good time!*_

_*Well sorry, I did too!*_

_*You could have just as easily taken your clothes off and joined in.*_

_*Uh. One, I had just come home from a mission and my heart is crap. And two, Hana was throwing up down the hall and was calling for you.*_

_*Okay, okay, fine! But you're going blind? How much bad luck can you get?*_

_*Can we talk about this later? You're making it really difficult for me to fight both you and Kakashi…*_

_*Good! You're our enemy right, now, remember?*_

_*Well, he's going to catch on if you don't shut up!*_

_*Ugh…fine…*_

Kakashi and I leapt backwards and joined the others as they broke Naruto free of his genjutsu. He was dazed and a little shaken, but he was alright.

Itachi swiftly weaved handsigns and called out, "Fire Style: Pheonix Flight Jutsu!" as he breathed out several small fire balls from his mouth. Kakashi dodged them all easily and I followed closely behind. Ita then breathed out a standard fire ball jutsu which Naruto, Sakura, and Chiyo were all able to dodge. Kakashi brought out his Lightning Blade and made a charge towards Ita. I stood back and readied myself once Kakashi had Itachi distracted. Itachi leapt out of Kakashi's way, and I made my move, releasing one of my chakra chains and wrapping it around Ita, trapping him in the air. Naruto came from above and struck him hard with the Rasengan, creating a huge explosion.

I shielded my eyes as the dust settled. When I looked up, I realized that we had only attacked a shadow clone as Ita was still standing before the crater we had created.

"Well now," Ita said, "he's learned an interesting jutsu."

I sighed heavily. Ita was good, even with all three of us going at him, he was still able to foresee our attacks. That was the prodigy for you, always thinking ahead. I sighed, wondering which one of the two of us would be the victor if we really were enemies and had fought one on one. It would have been close, and though I was physically stronger than him and faster than even his sharingan could see sometimes, I had a feeling Ita would have me beat.

Looking around, I noticed a heavy fog coming down over us. Kakashi was using the Hidden Mist Jutsu to stop Ita's sharingan. Hm. Good idea. I used the falling mist to leap up high into a tree so I could see more clearly.

"The Hidden Mist Jutsu," Ita noted, "quite an effective jutsu to prevent one from casting a genjutsu. Unless of course, that person possesses the sharingan. Kakashi! Can we please stop this childish game of hide-and-seek?"

From my perch, I stifled a laugh. "Hide-and-seek? I take it you've had one too many rounds with Hana," I muttered to myself. That was her favorite game with Ita as Hana would constantly try to find a hiding spot so spectacular, even Itachi's sharingan couldn't find her. Being Ita, he would play along of course, and pretend to have difficulty figuring out where she was before he'd sneak up behind her and pull her into his arms, both of them laughing hysterically. I sighed heavily, wondering how much longer I would get to see those two smiles together…

Kakashi came out from his hiding place in the trees and threw some kunai and Ita. Itachi responded with a fire ball jutsu, but was caught off guard as Kakashi came up from the ground within the rubble the fireball created, aiming to punch Ita. Kakashi missed as Ita took a step back, grasping hold of Kakashi's shirt sleeve and made to strike him. Kakashi turned his head out of the way of the blow, so Ita reached behind Kakashi, grabbing the back of his neck as the two caught each other in a genjutsu.

I watched as the remained motionless. The puppet Ita was using was running out of chakra, and Itachi had failed to notice that he was attacking a shadow clone. Naruto took the opportunity to ready another Rasengan. I smiled, and remained at my perch. I'd let those two handle it and see where this would go.

When Itachi realized it was a shadow clone, it was too late. Naruto and his clone made a mad sprint towards Ita, readying a gigantic Rasengan, as the struck Itachi screaming a battle cry. I smiled to myself. Wow, Naruto had gotten incredibly strong in the two and a half years he was away. I hopped down from my perch and joined the other four, but Kakashi and Naruto had perplexed expressions on their faces. We walked up to the body lying on the ground, observing the remains. I narrowed my eyes and held my breath. That still looked an awful lot like Itachi…

But just as I began to worry, the face of the body changed suddenly, causing everyone to gasp in shock.

"What on earth?" Chiyo asked.

"When we were fighting, I could feel something was off," Kakashi explained.

I nodded my head, "Yes, I've fought alongside Itachi for many years…his moves were different.

"I don't get it," Naruto grimaced, "what's going on?"

"It has to be some kind of jutsu," Sakura noted.

"But this man," Chiyo stated, "his name is Yura. And he's a Jonin from our own village!"

I looked down at Yura's body and sighed heavily, "It seems that the Akatsuki used some sort of body manipulation jutsu to make living puppets and disguise them as different members. Itachi's still out there…and this was all a ploy to stall for time to keep us from reaching Gaara in time…"

Naruto's jaw dropped as he turned to me in a wild panic, "you can't be serious!"

I narrowed my eyes at the boy, "But I am. Isn't it perfect? We all hold personal grudges against Itachi, so who better to stop us in our tracks to get us distracted from the task at hand."

Naruto began to panic, looking around. He desperately wanted to save Gaara. I didn't blame him, he considered Gaara a close friend and was the only other person in the world who could directly relate to Naruto as they were both Jinchuuriki's. I sighed heavily. I just hoped that we weren't too late to save him.

* * *

**Itachi**

As Naruto delivered the final blow to the puppet, Itachi opened his eyes, releasing his connection with the puppet. He looked over at Kisame who was just finishing up as well.

"Looks like you're done too, huh?" Kisame asked.

"Yes," Itachi responded, "I was out of chakra. However, this was more than enough to by us a little time."

Itachi grimaced, Gaara was close to death and the Shukaku was almost completely sealed inside of the statue. There was no way Ari's team would be able to save either of the two now. Poor Ari, she was going to be devastated when she found out.

Also realizing what was about to happen, Kisame eyed Itachi and in a low voice said, "Itachi, as troublesome as she may be, I still consider Ari my friend…with all of the news she has received lately, I wouldn't deem it wise to give her any more stress. At the very least I suggest you spend some time with her when she gets home, and don't try to argue with her, no matter how unreasonable she may get."

Itachi nodded, sighing heavily, "I'm aware, Kisame. Believe me, I'm aware."

"I was just making sure," Kisame said. The two then glanced down at Hana, who was still asleep. Kisame shook his head, "the next question I have is how Hana will handle it if we end up taking her birth mother too…"

Not daring to think of what would happen, Itachi pulled Hana into a tight hug, holding her close. He grimaced, not wanting her or Ari to suffer any more pain. He stroked Hana's hair gently. Ari, Hana, and Sasuke meant everything to him. He had already corrupted Sasuke to a point he feared was no return, he didn't want to make the same mistake with his precious flower. She and Ari were all he had left to live for. And he wanted to badly to live with them forever.

"I swear, if it's the last thing I do," Itachi said in a low voice, "I _will_ protect them. I won't let them suffer any longer because of me."

Kisame sighed heavily, narrowing his eyes at Itachi, "I just hope you didn't jinx yourself with that one."

"Me too…"

* * *

**Ari**

As I had feared, we were too late. By the time we had finally broken down the entrance to the Akatsuki hideout, all we found were Sasori and Deidara sitting atop of Gaara's lifeless body.

And Uncle Shukaku had been sealed away…permanently…

Deidara had kidnapped Gaara's body, having a giant clay bird swallow it. Naruto's rage began to boil over, and I could feel my father's chakra beginning to spill out of him. I grimaced as Kakashi and I trailed Naruto and Deidara, if Naruto didn't calm down here pretty soon…there was no telling what would happen. I love my dad, don't get me wrong, but in that point in time, I knew that if even an ounce of his will came out in Naruto, it would be the death of everybody who was nearby. Perhaps even me.

As we trailed Deidara, Kakashi built up enough chakra to activate his own Mongekyo Sharingan, and ability that I didn't know he could use with Obito's eye. Using a Space-Time Warp Ninjutsu, he managed to take one of Deidara's arms. I threw some of my chakra chains up and pulled the clay bird out of the sky while Naruto attacked Deidara. Before long, we had Gaara back.

But he had already left this world.

And Naruto was so beside himself, Dad was about to reenter it.

Running around, his eyes blazing red, a red cloak of chakra began to surround Naruto, taking the shape of my father's body as two tails sprouted from it. I held my breath, horrified by what I was seeing, but Kakashi acted quickly and pulled out a seal, slapping it onto Naruto's forehead. The seal dissipated Naruto's chakra and the boy began to collapse. I ran up and caught him in my arms, holding Naruto gently until he regained consciousness moments later.

We later regrouped with the others to find that Sasori had been defeated. We thought that Deidara had been taken out as well, but when I returned home, Itachi told me that the trigger-happy artist had survived somehow, but was temporarily out of commission until Kakuzu could perform surgery and sew Deidara's arms back on.

But that still left Gaara. The Kazekage had earned a hard-won recognition from his peers and was loved by his people, touched by both he and Naruto, Chiyo gave up her life to resurrect Gaara. Hundreds of shinobi from the Sand came to greet Gaara as he awakened, and we all mourned in a moment of silence for the loss of Granny Chiyo. Sakura had been the most affected by her passing, as she had come to admire the old puppet master. With a successful mission, and the Kazekage returned safely home in good health, our team returned to Konoha.

I felt as if the life had been drained out of me in the past week. It had started with a carefree morning full of love and laughter, and it had ended with being bitch-slapped several times by a dark and cruel reality that was finally catching up to us. The Mongekyo was blinding Itachi, a lifelong heart condition was killing him, Uncle Shukaku had been taken, Hana's mother was next, and the Akatsuki wouldn't stop until they had taken every single jinchuuriki, including Naruto. And on top of everything else, Orochimaru was on the move again, and Ita and I were beginning to fear that he would try to absorb Sasuke now that three years were almost up.

Needless to say, I was pretty miserable when I came home. Not even Hana's cheerful greeting as she leapt on me cheering, "Welcome home, Mommy!" could do much to lift my spirits.

"Hi sweetie," I said, deflated. Itachi came up to greet me, smiling warmly at me. I forced back a smile at him, but couldn't muster up the strength for anything else. Seeing my misery, Ita's face fell, concern enveloping his eyes. Hana had sensed something was off as well as her eyebrows knitted together in confusion when she looked up at me.

"Mommy," Hana said with an uneasy tone, "do you want to go play? I want to show you all the paintings that Daddy and I made while you were gone."

"Of course I want to play!" I grinned, placing my hands on my hips, faking my enthusiasm. I looked back up at Ita and started to give him a hug, but I found I couldn't without fighting back tears.

Itachi noticed this and he placed a hand on my cheek, "we'll talk later. Our little flower has been dying to see you."

I nodded and followed Hana as she led me up to her room. She didn't give me time to change out of my gear as she closed the door and pulled out her dolls. While she was fearless with Ita, she was a storyteller with me. We played house and Tea Party as Hana's imagination ran wild. She showed me all the masterpieces she had created while I was gone. She made a really cute painting of Her, Ita, and I holding hands. In the corner she had added a fish bowl with a shark.

"What's that?" I asked, pointed at the fish bowl.

"Well, I didn't quite know how to get his hair right, so I just made Uncle Dory a fish. Do you think he'll mind?" she explained.

I started laughing, Hana's innocence helping me forget all about the troubles of the world. That's one thing I love about Hana, that little flower can take any bad situation and make light out of it, bringing smiles to everyone's faces, no matter where she went.

"Hana, we tease him so much I don't think he'll care," I said, "but Uncle Dory?"

Hana shrugged, "well, Dory was the only name he didn't say 'no' to when I was asking what I could call him. All he did was groan so I took it as a 'yes'."

I chuckled, shaking my head, "well, I think this picture's my favorite!" I said. I took the picture and brought it to the kitchen, hanging it up on the refrigerator along with other masterpieces by Hana. A couple of hours later, I went to make dinner. Hana was upstairs napping, and without her, my mind was starting to run wild. I was tired and I still hadn't changed into more comfortable clothes, I was growing more and more frustrated. I burned the first couple of things I tried to make and started making ridiculous slip-ups. Unable to focus, the frying pan slipped out of my hand and fell on the stove and I burned my finger.

"Dammit! What else can go wrong?" I groaned, fighting back tears.

Itachi came to the kitchen after hearing the commotion and ran up behind me, gently taking the control of dinner preparations from me.

"You've had a long week, Love," he said gently, "I'll make dinner tonight. You go on upstairs and unwind. Take a shower, you'll feel better."

Sighing heavily, I nodded. But no matter how hot or relaxing the water felt on my skin, the shower only made me feel worse. My head kept spinning, going from Itachi, to Hana, to Shukaku, to Auntie Tabi, to Dad, to Naruto, to Sasuke, and back. My whole world had managed to fall apart in a matter of days and I didn't know how to put it back together. What was even worse was that I knew this was only the beginning.

Frustrated, I gave up on relaxing and finished scrubbing up. I turned off the faucet and reached for a towel. At about that point, I heard a knock on the door.

"Ari?" Ita said from the other side, "dinner's ready."

"I'm coming—" I began to say, not paying attention to my surroundings. I slipped on one of Hana's bath toys lying on the floor and fell, hitting my head on the toilet. I screamed, releasing a few tears and a bout of frustration out in the process.

"Ari!" Ita called, barging in. When he found me naked and lying on the floor crying, he closed the door and knelt down, wrapping a towel around me and pulling me into his arms. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"Leave me alone!" I screamed at him, pushing him away, "I'm fine!"

Ita frowned, eyeing me sadly, "Ari, do you need to talk?"

"No!" I yelled at him, "Now get out! Just leave me alone!"

Sighing heavily, Ita did as I had demanded. When he left, I instantly felt bad for yelling at him. He was only trying to help me. I curled up into a ball and cried silently for a good few minutes before I got dressed in a camisole, one of Ita's button-up shirts, and a pair of sweat pants. I haphazardly brushed my hair out enough so it wouldn't get tangled together, but didn't bother making it look at all decent. I sat at the table quietly, playing with my food. All four of us ate in silence, the atmosphere heavy.

"So Hana," Kisame said, trying to lighten the mood, "why did you make me a shark in that picture you drew?"

"Because, silly," Hana giggled, oblivious to how distraught her parents were, "you look like a fish and I didn't have the right color blue for your skin! Plus your hair is hard to draw…"

"My hair is hard to draw?" Kisame asked, pretending to be insulted, "I would think your mom's hair is even harder! I mean, look at it! It's so wild and all over the place!"

Hana giggled, "but it's long and pretty! Your hair is short. I can't do short hair."

"Hmmm," Kisame thought, "well maybe you need more practice then! You know, we have an artist in Akatsuki, he could show you how to draw short hair!"

"Kisame," Ita groaned, "I'm not letting Deidara even a mile within Hana's reach. He's a trigger-happy pyrotechnic."

"Calm down, Itachi, I was only joking!" Kisame laughed. He then looked up at me and said, "Ari?"

I jumped out of my trance and said, "Huh?"

"For someone who just came home from a mission, you don't seem too hunry," he said. I looked down at my plate. I had been twirling the soba noodles Ita had cooked around with my chopsticks. As I looked over at the others, I realized that I was the only one who hadn't finished eating.

"Oh, sorry," I said, "I was just distracted is all…"

"Ari…" Ita began to say, but then he glanced over nervously at Hana, not sure how to begin the conversation he wanted to have with me without scaring her.

Kisame saved the day as he caught on and distracted Hana, "say, kiddo, you want to have a movie night with me tonight? We can build a fort in my living room and watch all your favorite movie and eat popcorn. I can fix some sundaes too if you'd like."

Hana grinned brightly as she looked at me and Itachi expectantly. She loved movie nights with Kisame. "Can I, Mom? Can I?"

I smiled and nodded, "sure. But Kisame, don't give her too much sugar. I'd like her to be able to sleep tonight."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Kisame brushed me off. Hana ran upstairs to grab Tim-Tim and several blankets. She was already in her pajamas so Kisame said he would just bring her up when she fell asleep. As Hana led Kisame down to his floor, he reached over and patted Ita on the shoulder and said, "you're welcome."

Kisame closed the door which led to his floor, leaving Ita and I alone. I sat in the chair, trembling. I knew what was about to come. Even though I had insisted on having this conversation right when I had gotten home, I realized that I just wasn't ready to face the facts. I couldn't even look Ita in the eye without crying.

After a long moment of silence, Ita stood and held out his hand, "it's been a while since we had time alone together," he said, "what do you say we have a movie night of our own?"

Ita's smile was so sweet. I looked up at him. He was treating me gently, as if he were handling a fragile piece of china that could easily break. Still shaking, I nodded my head and took his hand. We went upstairs to our living room and I sat down on the couch as Ita pulled out the movie selection. He sat on the floor next to where I sat and skimmed through all of the romantic movies like _The Notebook_ and _Titanic_ and went straight to the more explosive titles, but not because he didn't like those movies. In fact, for some strange reason, he loves them. Well, to be specific, he enjoys watching them with me. I, on the other hand, was the one who enjoyed the action-packed superhero movies and the comedies that were too inappropriate for Hana to watch. As a couple, our movie tastes were the exact opposite of what they probably should have been.

"Okay," Ita said with a playful grin on his face, "what do we want to watch tonight, _Skyfall_ or _Fast & Furious_?"

I grinned and narrowed my eyes, "what, no chick flicks tonight?"

Itachi shrugged, "I can only watch those if you're in a good enough mood to make fun of me for crying."

"And why is that?" I asked, leaning down towards him.

"Because my soft side arouses you," Ita teased, chuckling as he tilted his head back towards me, our faces drawing close, "and if I let you make fun of me, I can make you happy, and in turn, you end up giving me everything I want."

"Uh-huh," I said, laughing. The edge was slowly rolling off my shoulders as I teased, "I think you've been hanging out with Jiraiya a little too much since he and Naruto came back…you're started sounding like him just now."

Itachi let out a laugh and put in _Fast & Furious_. I cuddled up next to him as we sat under the blankets, getting lost in the plot that mainly consisted of fast cars and lots of explosions. Ita wrapped his arms tightly around me and I leaned against his chest. About half way through the movie I couldn't take listening to his haphazard heartbeats anymore so I grabbed the remote and paused the movie.

"Something wrong?" Ita asked.

I sighed heavily, fighting back tears before I turned to face him, "how long are we going to do this for?" I asked, "how long are we going to pretend that our lives aren't completely screwed up?"

Itachi eyed me slightly confused and he shrugged, "I wouldn't say our lives are so bad…screwed up, yes, but it's not that bad…"

"Itachi," I groaned. I held up my left hand, showing him my engagement ring, "you've proposed to the daughter of a _Tailed Beast_, and your fiancé and daughter are probably the two most feared monsters on the planet. You're an S-ranked criminal charged for the murder of his clan but were acting _on orders_ from the Leaf. And, on top of everything else, your living best friend looks like a fish. What's not screwed up about that?"

"You left out all the normal parts, which why it sounds so bad," Itachi chuckled, "and we have really got to stop making fun of Kisame. He's going to go ape on us one day."

"Well, he needs to stop being so easy to make fun of," I groaned, "But Ita, I…ugh…I don't know how to say…I just feel like I'm being stretched in all directions. I'm tired of living in secret like this. I'm tired of having to go back and forth between two places because I can't bring you with me. I'm tired of calling you my fiancé because I want to just call you my husband already. And frankly, I'm really tired of your heart and I'm tired of all the lies!"

I shook as I finished speaking. I instantly felt guilty as I said the last part, I hadn't expected for that to come out. Ita was silent for a long moment, his expression hardened. He looked up at me with stone, but sad eyes and asked, "…are you breaking up with me?"

"What?" I asked in disbelief, "No! I—I would never! Ita, you're the love of my life! I'm just…I'm just sick of having to put up with all of this shit!"

Ita looked away and nodded, he sighed heavily and said, "I'm surprised you aren't, honestly…after everything I put you through this week alone…"

I nodded, fighting back tears, "I almost considered it," I admitted, "you really put me through a cheese grater with all of this news at once, but I know you didn't intend for me to find out _everything_. I know you were only looking for the right time to sit me down and explain to me what was really going on. You were just trying to protect me, and I understand."

Ita remained silent for a long moment. He leaned forward and lowered his head before he looked up at me, his voice cracking as he said, "Ari, I am so sorry for everything. I'm sorry I've put you through all of this, and I'm sorry I had to be the one you fell in love with."

"Why would you be sorry for that?" I asked, starting to lose it, "Ita, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't care how much I have to suffer, as long as I can stay by your side. You're the only one I ever feel at peace with."

"Ari…" Ita looked away, "you are too good to me, you know that?"

I shook my head, tears escaping my eyes, "I'm not good enough…if I had just been quicker to the catch…if my medical ninjutsu was even decent at all…I could've…I wouldn't have to…goddammit, Itachi, I can't say goodbye to you!"

At that, I began to sob. I clutched the blanket over my lap tightly as I bent over, lowering my head. The tears came out uncontrollably and it took everything I had to keep from screaming. Itachi watched me for a moment, but then pulled me gently onto his lap, cradling me and comforting me while I cried. His kindness only made me cry harder as I realized I didn't know how much longer I could be in his arms like that.

I was still crying when Kisame brought a sleeping Hana upstairs. He looked over at Ita and me, a frown on his face, "I'll just put her to bed then," he said softly.

"Thank you, Kisame," Itachi said gratefully. I would have thanked Kisame as well, but I was too busy holding onto Itachi for dear life, crying like a baby. When Kisame left again, Itachi stroked my back gently, humming softly in my ear before he finally said, "Ari, there is just one thing I wanted to tell you…about what will happen in the next few months, that is."

I stopped sobbing long enough to look up at him, my face puffy and red and soaked in tears. He wiped the tears off my face and he held my head in his hands as he looked me in the eye and said, "the first night we spent with Hana, I knew I didn't know how long I would be able to spend with you guys, and I realized something that night. I had resolved to do exactly as I am about to promise you."

"What-what do you mean?" I whimpered.

"Ari, no matter what happens, no matter what hell or high waters may await us," Itachi began, "but I promise to stand by your side and protect you and Hana with my life until the day I die. But even in death, I will not leave you. You may not be able to see me, but I will be there, guiding you towards happiness. I will carry you when you are no longer able to stand, and I will sing to you when you are unable to sleep, and I will hold you in my arms, protecting you from harm for the rest of eternity. And I will do the same for Hana, loving her as a father should. You may not know it, you may move on and find new love, and I may become nothing more than a painful memory. In fact, I hope that's one day the case, but I will always be there, watching over you. Do you understand?"

My eyes widened as Ita spoke. His words were comforting and heartbreaking at the same time, but my mind was put at ease by the words of his promise. I leaned back into his chest and held him tight as he rocked me back and forth. "Itachi…" I whimpered, "thank you…"

A few moments later, the light came on in Hana's room and she came trudging out into the living room, holding Tim-Tim tightly. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, worry encasing them when she saw me. "Mommy?" she asked, "why are you crying?"

I shook my head, standing up. I held Ita's hand tightly, not wanting to ever let go and we walked over to her. "Nothing's wrong, sweetie," I said, "Daddy's just being a hopeless romantic is all. Did we wake you?"

Hana shook her head, "I got thirsty," she explained. I took Hana in my arms and brought her back to her room, tucking her into bed. Ita went downstairs to get a bottle of water then returned moments later, handing the bottle to her. I stroked Hana's forehead gently and Ita lied down next to her, the three of us just enjoyed each other's company.

"Can you sing me a song?" Hana asked sleepily as she yawned.

Ita and I exchanged glances, but I started to sing the chorus of one of Hana's favorites, "You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains…"

Ita then sang, "you raise me up, to walk on stormy seas…"

Then we both sang together, "I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up, to more than I can be…"

Hana smiled and began to close her eyes as we sang more of the song. When she had finally drifted off to sleep, I grabbed Tim-Tim who had been tossed to the foot of the bed and set him down next to her before I pulled the covers up to her chin. I kissed her forehead and Ita followed suit by kissing her on the cheek and whispering into her ear, "Goodnight, my little wild flower."

We both crawled into bed that night lying on our sides, facing each other. We looked into each other's eyes and held hands, saying nothing. I scooted closer to him and buried my face into his chest as we fell asleep in each other's arms. I smiled to myself as we did so, thinking back to the picture of us four-year olds sleeping hand-in-hand. Who knew that such a harmless action could blossom into a relationship so poisoned yet blessed with love such as ours.

I fell asleep, afraid of the future, but also comforted by Itachi's promise. He would stand by my side and carry me when I could no longer stand. He would be my rock to lean on, even if he wasn't there. That promise and Hana's smile would be my comfort as the storm came through. After that night, Ita's health quickly took a turn for the worse, and our love was trampled over and tried time and time again as we were ripped out of each other's arms, then brought back together, and the process repeated over the course of the next year, as the hunt for the Bijuu continued, a fierce and final battle with Sasuke ensued, the Leaf saw its destruction at the hands of pain, a war in pursuit of Naruto and the Eight-Tailed Jinchuuriki began, and the Edo Tensei Jutsu wreaked havoc on the living world, reviving the dead upon its activation before stopping just as abruptly as it came, but not before reviving Madara Uchiha, who almost single-handedly destroyed the world alongside Obito Uchiha and the Ten-Tailed Juubi, and my Mother, who I fought in one final battle with before she freed herself from the jutsu and gave me the strength to help Naruto save the shinobi world and possibly saved my life with her final gift of life.


	17. Chapter 16: The Soft Goodbye

EVERYONE GET THE TISSUES READY! I made myself cry as I wrote this so you have been forewarned! And before anyone asks, I don't know if you caught onto my foreshadowing or helpful hints yet, but for those of you who haven't, I am NOT ending the story tragically with Itachi's death! We haven't even gotten to the war or Edo Tensei yet! (hint hint, guess who's a pivotal character in that arc?) ;) Well anyway, try to enjoy this chapter, and don't cry too much!

* * *

**Ari**

Several months passed after the Shukaku was taken. The Sand and Leaf were both shaken to the point where the Akatsuki had to lay low to avoid any great uproar. When they did strike, however, they gobbled up the Tailed Beasts like it was nothing, and everything came and went in one foul swoop.

And the months in between were long and dreadful.

Itachi's condition started spiraling out of control. He wanted nothing more than to sleep the day away and could hardly stand for more than ten minutes. When he did sleep, however, he would awake in the middle of the night hacking up blood. There was no way he could go out on missions anymore, but we were lucky to have Kisame because he gladly took every mission on alone with a smile. I would help him out with the more covert ones that wouldn't get the Leaf too angry with me in Ita's place, just to make Kisame's life easier, but I hated leaving Itachi all alone. He had gotten so weak, his arms would shake when he tried to even lift up Hana. His prescription barely eased the symptoms of his failing heart anymore, and he gave up on following it and would down at least twelve pills a day just to even function. He fought to hang on to his life, and he was miserable and exhausted. As much as I didn't want to lose him, it pained me to see him suffering.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him one day. He was sitting in bed, his head and back propped up by several pillows. We had sat Hana down and explained to her what was happening to her dad just days before. She cried for hours and I still wasn't sure she understood everything, but she handled the news remarkably well, much better than I could have ever dreamed of handling it myself, even if I had been sat down like she was. Hana swiftly took on the role of playing nurse, making a game out of Itachi's approaching death. She wanted to play with him until his last breath, and that's just what Hana did, and I think Ita was forever grateful for the joy she brought to the room.

I had just put Hana down for a nap when Ita started another coughing fit. They were growing more and more frequent, and each one seemed to leave him that much more deteriorated. He sat back afterwards, infuriated with himself. He then reached over to the night stand and pulled five pills out of the bottle, swallowing all of them without water.

"Doing what?" he asked, confused by my question.

I grimaced and looked away, "Itachi, why do you keep forcing yourself to stay alive like this? You've lived far past what your heart can handle, and now your entire body is falling apart on you. I'm glad I still have you with me, but Ita…don't suffer just for my sake! You've fought long enough, if you want to go then…I understand."

Itachi looked me in the eye for a long time before he leaned his head back and smiled, "Ari, take my hand."

I swallowed hard, doing as he asked. Should I really have said that? Was this going to be it? Did I need to get Hana in here?

"Ari, I'm not doing this just for you," he said, "or Hana…if I wasn't so selfish, I would have left this world already and put you both out of your misery. There is just one last thing I have to do…one last person I have to meet with before I go."

My heart fell and I let out a heavy sigh. The room began to spin as I breathed, "Ita…please tell me you aren't talking about Sasuke…he'll come back to the village. Naruto will find him."

"Ari, do you honestly believe that?" Itachi laughed out sadly, "Naruto has a gift for changing people, for lighting their lives, he's just like Hana in that sense. But…I don't know if anyone could persuade Sasuke. At least not until I die at his hands."

"Oh…Ita…" I moaned, my chest tightening, "You can't be serious…"

"It's just one last fight," he said, "I knew that when I left the village I would have to die at Sasuke's hands. If there was anything I could do for him as his brother, I could at least make him stronger, give him a reason to train, awaken his Mongekyo, and be his spare set of eyes when his wear out."

"Then how much longer…?" I asked, "how much longer do I have you for?"

"I can't say," Ita sighed. I pulled him into a hug and held him close as he rested his head on my chest, "I will let you know before I leave. I will tell Hana goodbye and make sure you both are alright."

"Alright," I heaved, fighting back tears, "you gotta do what you gotta do. I'll help you as best as I can."

"You've done plenty already," Itachi sighed. He pulled away from me and then lied down on his back, looking up at the ceiling. I lied on my side, resting my head in my propped up hand as I stroked his face. "Why have you stuck with me for so long?" he asked suddenly, "surely you and Hana would be happier without me the way I am now. I'm a nuisance…"

"Uh-uh," I shook my head, "don't start that." Ita had been going through this depressed funk ever since he stopped going on missions. He started questioning his worth and would practically beg for me to leave him to die. He saw himself only as a nuisance, a waste of my time, what he didn't understand, however, was that this was the only way I could see myself spending the time we had left together: at his side, aiding him in whatever way I could. "Remember the wedding vows?"

"Ari, I—"

"Remember what they say?"

Ita sighed heavily, blinking away tears, "Yes…"

"In sickness and in health," I told him, holding his hand tightly.

"Until death do us part," he finished. We said those two phrases of the vows whenever either one of us started to grow weary.

"_After_ death will we part," I assured him, kissing him gently.

Shortly after that, the Akatsuki made its next move.

* * *

Before she had been captured, I took some time off and traveled to the Village Hidden in the Clouds to visit a woman by the name of Yugito Nii. I had snooped around some files and discovered that she was the sister of Toshio Nii, Hana's father, and was the most recent jinchuuriki of my Aunt Matatabi.

I snuck up on her quietly, she roamed around the training grounds of the Cloud Village at night. She had long dirty-blonde hair, just like Hana, and she was fast and light on her feet. I tried to get close to her, watching her train, but even with my chakra masked, she could still sense my presence.

She spun around and threw a kunai in my direction, which I had easily dodged.

"I know you're there!" she called out in a stern voice, "show yourself."

I leapt out of my cover in the trees and stepped into the light so she could see me. It was cold in the Cloud Village, and I wore my cloak with the hood over my head to stay warm. She struggled to see my face in the dim lighting, so I tilted my head up a little bit and asked, "are you Yugito? Sister of Toshio and Jinchuuriki of the Two-Tails?"

Yugito grimaced and lowered her stance, "If you know that, you must be an enemy who is here to capture me and rip the beast which dwells inside of me out. Well, you can't have her, and I _will_ kill you."

"I'm not an enemy, but a friend," I said, lifting the hood off my head. I wore my leaf headband around my neck that night and left my hair down, not anticipating a fight. I figured that way, Yugito could see the Leaf Symbol best and Matababi would recognize me from within her jinchuuriki.

Yugito narrowed her eyes, "a friend? Listen, Leaf, our villages may be on civil terms right now, but you can't just come waltzing in here like you own the place. What is your purpose?"

I smiled and reached into my weapons pouch to pull out my camera. I had taken several pictures of Hana since she came home with us. I held it out for Yugito to take and said, "your brother…he was the jinchuuriki before you, wasn't he?"

Yugito stared down at the camera, hesitant to take it and she frowned, "yes…I don't know why, but he grew quite fond of Matatabi. I still don't understand where that came from, when he freed her, I knew he had shortened his life by several years, everyone would be out to kill him. But I loved my brother, and Matatabi was kind to him, and I did everything I could to keep them safe."

"Do you know that they conceived a child together?" I asked.

Yugito's eyes widened and she lowered her stance again, "I helped deliver the child, you fool. But other shinobi were coming after us and when they discovered that I was with the Tailed Beast and her child, my orders were to seal the Bijuu away and destroy the child. I did just that."

"You didn't kill the girl though," I noted, "why is that?"

Yugito drew a kunai, anticipating a fight, "Listen, I left the girl at the borders of the Rain Village. Matatabi asked me to find some half-breed from your village who had agreed to raise the child but I was out of time and the Cloud was watching me like a hawk. I left her in an orphanage, but she's probably dead by now. How do you know all of this? Why did you come for me?"

"Because, Yugito," I said, taking a step toward her. I placed the camera in her hands and smiled at her, "I am that half-breed. I just came to thank you for saving Hana's life, and I wanted both you and Aunt Tabi to know that hers and your brother's little girl is safe."

Yugito eyed me, confused, but turned the camera on and shuffled through photos of Hana, Itachi, and I. "She's…beautiful…how did you find her?"

I shrugged, "some would say by chance, I say it was a fateful encounter."

Yugito handed the camera back to me and smiled, "so you're Ariala Drake, the Demon of the Leaf? You're not at all what I thought you'd be."

I laughed and said, "I get that a lot. Though between you and me, the name's Ariala Uzumaki. You can call me Ari for short."

"Alright, Ari," Yugito said, "well, we appreciate you coming to tell us the news. Thank you."

"No," I said, "thank you."

And with that, I returned to Konoha. It wasn't long after that when Yugito and Aunt Tabi were captured by the zombie twins, Hidan and Kakuzu who then killed Asuma Sarutobi shortly after. Asuma's team, who were apart of Naruto and Sakura's graduating class were traumatized by their sensei's death. And Kurenai…she was newly pregnant with their child. I often went over to Kurenai's to help out with chores or whatever; I could sympathize with what she was going through. After all, pretty soon we would both be widowed.

Asuma's death even outraged Itachi. Hidan and Kakuzu's orders were to bring back the Two-Tails and nothing more, but they passed by one of the Holy Temples in the Land of Fire and saw a monk with a high bounty for his head in the black market. With money on Kakuzu's mind and the simple joy of killing on Hidan's, the two wiped out the entire temple. Outraged as the monk taken was one of Asuma's best friends, he and his team were dispatched to put an end to the two Akatsuki members. However, with a high bounty on his head as well, the mission cost Asuma his life.

Just days after his death, I found myself being blown back by one of Kakuzu's attacks. I slammed against a dead tree, pain shooting up and down my body from the blow. I hastily stood on my feet. These two alone were overwhelming Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kakashi, and I, and they were up against Ino-Shika-Cho, the Copy Ninja, and the Demon of the Leaf!

Any normal person would have been killed. In fact, we had killed Kakuzu twice already…but he had five hearts. And Hidan, thanks to some form of voodoo or whatever mixed in with his belief of Jashin, was immortal all together.

"Hmph," Kakuzu said, walking up to me, "I can see why Itachi has spoken so highly of you…you pack quite a punch for someone so small."

I looked over at the other four, Shikamaru was struggling with Hidan who was trapped in a Shadow Possession jutsu while Ino and Choji were helping Kakashi pull some of Kakuzu's threads out of his chest. Kakuzu had attempted to take Kakashi's heart when he took out the first one, but I leapt in at the last minute, using my twin swords to extend a concentration of chakra out of the blades in the form of one of my light whips, which struck Kakuzu in the chest and incinerating his second heart. I had really pissed him off with that move, and now he was out to chop me into pieces.

"But you're an annoying little brat," Kakuzu then spat, "acting so tough and thinking you can take on the likes of _me_. I'll kill you for your arrogance."

I grimaced, staring up at Kakuzu. No, I wasn't going to die. Not today. I still had Itachi at home, and I would not die before he did, and I could not leave Hana all alone by herself. I promised her I wouldn't let her be all alone in the world.

"No! Kakuzu!" Hidan started whining, trying to wriggle his way out of the shadow possession, "I want to take Ari out! Imagine what a great sacrifice she would make for Jashin! He would praise me for bringing him the half-demon child of the Fox!"

I shot Hidan a nasty glare, avoiding the confused gazes Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji were all giving me. ANBU and the higher ups of the village plus Naruto knew about me, but no one else of Konoha did. But of course, thanks to Kisame's big fat mouth, all of Akatsuki knew what I was! I also wondered if anyone else besides Pein and Konan knew about Hana. A chill ran up my spine as I watched Hidan. That freak obviously had a loose screw in his head. These guys were dangerous, probably the most dangerous members of Akatsuki. I could see why Itachi wanted to see them taken out, and I could also see why he panicked when I said I would help Team 10 avenge Asuma.

"_That's suicide!" he snapped at me when I told him._

"_Why?" I asked, "I get that they're immortal, but Ita, I'm part Tailed Beast. And I won't be going alone, we have a plan."_

"_This mission will probably be one of the most dangerous ones you will ever go on, Ari," Kisame warned, "though I will say, if anyone can take the zombie twins out it'd be you…I honestly wouldn't mind to see them go."_

"_I wouldn't just mind it if they went," Ita said in a low voice with his arms crossed, "they need to be taken out. The sooner the better. Those two are time bombs just waiting to go off."_

"I can see why…" I mumbled to myself, replaying the memory in my head.

I managed to hold my own against Kakuzu while the other four took on Hidan for a little while, but it would only be a matter of time before one or all of us would be killed. To our sheer dumb luck, Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato were sent in as our backup and arrived just in time. Naruto had a new move he was itching to try out, and by the way Kakashi and Yamato had been talking about Naruto's training, this move sounded like something I needed to see. Shikamaru devised a plan and managed to separate Hidan from Kakuzu, but Shikamaru was taking Hidan on alone. Just minutes after they had separated from us, Kakuzu dropped to the ground, dead. Just one more heart left…

In the distance, we heard a series of explosions around where Shikamaru was. I hoped that was him taking Hidan out. Naruto took Kakuzu's distraction to create a Rasengan. I was surprised, however, when the Rasengan began to change shape, spinning around faster and faster, looking like a shuriken as a high-pitched buzzing noise began to emit from the spinning mass of chakra in Naruto's hand.

We got Kakuzu held down long enough and Naruto charged screaming, "Wind Element: Rasenshuriken!" as he struck Kakuzu with it. It made a loud noise as it beat Kakuzu, the attack's effects lasting even after Naruto released the Rasenshuriken. Kakuzu fell to the ground and died shortly later. Not long after that, Shikamaru rejoined us, Hidan defeated.

It was a relief to have those two out of the picture, but right as soon as we returned to Konoha to deliver our reports and send those off to the hospital who needed medical attention, reports started flying in about how the Three-tails, was captured. And when I returned home, my face paled when I saw Itachi up and moving, dressing in his Akatsuki cloak.

"Daddy's going on a mission, Mommy! That means he's getting better, right?" Hana informed me as I carried her around in my arms.

"Ita…what's going on?" I asked, preparing myself for the news.

"With the Three Tails captured, Kisame has been deployed to fill his quota, the Four-Tails. We were both asked to report to the rendezvous point in order to do the sealing," Itachi explained, "don't worry, I'll be back soon."

I let out a deep sigh and pulled Itachi into a hug, "just be careful. And don't overdo it."

"I won't," he said softly.

"Have no fear, Ari, I'll take good care of Itachi!" Kisame joked.

"Thanks, Jaws, I'm holding you to that," I said, smiling. Kisame grimaced, still unable to shake any of mine or Hana's nicknames for him. As I waved goodbye, I felt my whole body tensing.

I hoped I would see them again…

I took Hana back to Konoha the next day, and that was when the scariest news was delivered to me: Sasuke had killed Orochimaru and he was on the hunt for Itachi.

Ita and Kisame didn't come home at the time they had promised, as the Five- Six- and Seven-Tails were all captured and brought in at around the same time, immediately after the Four-Tails was sealed. The village grew uneasy, more guards were posted and Tsunade began asking me to reenlist in ANBU. It didn't take much for me to agree to that, but I did so only on the conditions that I could stay with Team Kakashi and work undercover like Yamato was doing. She figured that was a good idea.

Why? Because with two jinchuuriki left, Naruto would be next. I grew more and more anxious by the day. Why wasn't Itachi home yet? Surely he would be deployed to capture Naruto, how would he handle that situation? Would he blow his cover? Was he even still alive?

I returned to that house and began to wait for Kisame and Itachi. I sat at the kitchen counter, waiting, looking out the window. They had to be home soon…I had to see them again…Itachi had promised me that he would tell me when he was leaving for good! Then, on one rainy day, I saw two forms approaching the front door. Hana was upstairs taking a nap, so I ran to the door alone and opened it, shouting, "Oh thank goodness you're—!"

I froze.

It wasn't Itachi and Kisame.

"Jiraiya? Kakashi? What are you two doing here?" I asked, stunned. Kakashi looked about as confused as I did, but Jiraiya's face was grim as he stepped inside.

"May we have a word?" he asked.

My face paled. Oh…oh no…

I had gotten too used to the thought of Ita dying on me before we had our proper goodbyes. So used to the idea, that when Jiraiya stepped inside, the only other person besides myself, the elders, and Kisame who knew Itachi's secret, I was fully prepared for him to tell me that he found Ita's body lying on the side of the road. And when he didn't, I nearly broke down crying.

"As you know, Sasuke defeated Orochimaru," Jiraiya began, "and he's looking for Itachi."

"Yeah," I said, taking a shaky breath.

"Well, I've also received some disturbing news from my sources that seven of the nine Tailed Beasts have been captured. They also have told me that…the Akatsuki is coming after Naruto next," Jiraiya explained.

I took a deep breath. So Ita was still alive…he went to see Jiraiya before he came home and warned him that he had been given the orders. That's how Itachi was going to play this.

"I also discovered," Jiraiya added, "where the Akatsuki's leader is hiding: in the Village Hidden in the Rain."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. Itachi actually told Jiraiya where Pein was? I grimaced, he probably figured Jiraiya would tell the Leaf of this news and Tsunade would dispatch teams of shinobi to infiltrate the Rain Village and take Pein down before Ita had to fulfill his orders. Smart move, Ita! I sighed in relief, expecting that to be all the news, but then Jiraiya dashed all my hopes.

"There is one other thing," Jiraiya said, "Kakashi?"

Kakashi leaned forward, looking me in the eyes and explained, "I'm sure you know the Leaf has been getting uneasy with all the news about the Akatsuki, lately, especially now that they are going to make their move to go after Naruto. And also with Sasuke going after Itachi…well, Naruto came up with an idea that Tsunade, Jiraiya, and I all think could work. This is an incredibly difficult mission, and there is no guarantee that it will work, but should we succeed, we could find a way to bring Akatsuki down for good and even get Sasuke back."

"What is it?" I asked. This certainly sounded interesting.

"We're going to capture and detain Itachi Uchiha," Kakashi explained.

My stomach dropped. Detain…? But…that wouldn't…

"Uh…oh…" I muttered, suddenly growing sick to my stomach.

"Ari, you can see this is why I wanted Kakashi to talk to you," Jiraiya said, "I'm sorry for the sudden news, but you fought alongside Itachi for many years, no one knows him better than you. That's why I think he should know."

Kakashi was expecting me to spill all of Ita's weaknesses and come up with the best strategies to capture him, but instead, I breathed, "Kakashi, I'm afraid I think Ita will be dead before you can find him. He plans to fight Sasuke and die at his hands."

Kakashi's eyes widened, "W-what do you mean by that?"

I eyed Jiraiya uncomfortably, but the Sanin urged me to continue and said, "Tell him everything, Ari. And Kakashi, what you're about to find out is top-secret information. There are only five people in the world who know this, and this secret is intended to die with us."

"Just what is this secret?" Kakashi asked, narrowing his eyes. He shot me a glare and asked, "does this have to do with Haru?"

"His name's not actually Haru," I admitted. I then went upstairs and grabbed the scrapbook from my bed. I had been working on it earlier that day, updating it with pictures taken as recently as last week. I filled it mostly of photos with Hana, playing with Itachi, playing nurse with Itachi, painting, sitting on my lap, reading with me…the most recent photo I placed in there made me want to cry every time I saw it. It was eerily similar to the photo of Ita and Sasuke that started the conversation which brought the thought of little Hana to light. Hana had been playing nurse with Ita all day, and when I went looking for her to put her down for a nap, I found her in our room, lying on Itachi's chest, both of them asleep. I cried as I took that picture.

I brought the scrapbook downstairs to show to Kakashi. There really wasn't any other way to explain this to him. I flipped open to the page of photos from the mission at Utsukuma Inn. I set it down in front of Kakashi, pointing at a picture of Ita and I sitting on the bed of the honeymoon suite as I showed off my brand new engagement ring. We were so happy in that photo…and I hadn't realized how withered away Ita was until I saw that photo of him, healthy and strong, despite the fact that he was dying even then.

"His name is Itachi Uchiha," I said in a hardened voice. Kakashi's eyes widened in shock as he flipped through the scrapbook, looking at the photos which had been taking over the past few years. "And to make things clear," I explained, "Jiraiya really only has one source that he gets his information on Akatsuki from."

"But he destroyed his clan!" Kakashi exclaimed, "he destroyed the Uchiha so why would you-? Why would he-?"

"Because they were his orders," I said in a low voice, "the Uchiha were planning a coup. They were beyond reasoning and the Third Hokage was left with no choice but to order the annihilation of the Uchiha. Ita accepted it as his mission and he later joined the Akatsuki, fearing that they were a threat to the Leaf, and has kept Jiraiya updated on their movements ever since."

Kakashi trembled, looking through the scrapbook again, "So Tsunade knows?"

"The truth about Itachi Uchiha was a secret that Itachi himself has wished would die with him," Jiraiya stepped in, "Ari wasn't even supposed to know, but she found out in her own way three years ago when Itachi returned to the Leaf Village. No one has uttered a word about the truth, and no one will. However, I think it's important that you know about this, Kakashi, because there is a good chance that you will not be able to detain Itachi. He has his sights set on one final battle with Sasuke and he will not let anyone intervene with that. He'll probably die before you can find him."

"A final battle?" Kakashi asked, looking up at me, "but Ari, you're his _wife_, why does he want to fight Sasuke? Why does he want to die?"

"It's not that he wants to die," I explained through gritted teeth. I then flipped the pages of the scrapbook, showing Kakashi both a recent picture and compared it to a photo from Utsukuma Inn, "you can tell he's gotten sicker in just three years alone. His heart is failing and the only thing that could have saved him was a procedure only Tsunade and Shizune know how to do. When he accepted that he was dying, he resolved to fight Sasuke one last time, so that he could die by Sasuke's hands and his little brother would be freed of his need for revenge. That's Itachi's final wish."

At that, Kakashi stood, looking from me to the scrapbook, "Ari, there is still time. If we find Itachi then—"

"There is no time!" I barked back. I crossed my arms, holding myself tightly to keep from crying, "Itachi's body has long since given out on him. The only thing that's keeping him alive is a dangerous amount of heart medications. Even if you found him, he would be dead within the hour that you took him into custody. The time when he would have been strong enough to survive the valve replacement was three years ago, so even if Tsunade found out the truth and agreed to help him, Ita would just die on the operating table."

Kakashi looked away from me, distraught by the news, "Ari…are you going to see him again?" he asked, "before he dies at least?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. He was supposed to come home three days ago, but new jinchuuriki keep coming in and I don't know how much longer he has."

Kakashi then grasped hold of my shoulders, "then you're coming on this mission with me."

"What?" I asked in disbelief, "Kakashi, you can't be serious!"

"I have a feeling that we'll find him," Kakashi said, "and if not, we'll find Sasuke in pursuit of him. If anything, we can bring Sasuke back and you can at least say goodbye to Itachi."

"Kakashi," I glared at him, "there will be other people with us, how are we going to pull that off?"

"I'll help you out when we get to that point," Kakashi said, "are you with me?"

I looked from Kakashi to Jiraiya and back in disbelief, but sighing, I had a feeling they would drag me on this mission anyway, "alright…just let me get a babysitter lined up for Hana. When will we leave?"

"In three days. I have to finalize a few things with Tsunade before we go."

"Okay…guess I'll see you then," I said, heaving a heavy sigh. Dammit…what if Itachi came back after I had left?

As Kakashi stepped out the door, Jiraiya turned back to me and said, "he'll be home later on today. I asked him to hang back a bit while we talked to you, so you can wipe that worried look off your face."

I glanced up at Jiraiya in shock, relief washing over me, "thank you, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya's expression became grim suddenly when he said, "Enjoy the next couple of days with him."

As the door closed, I slunk to the ground, leaning my back against the wall. I had a feeling I knew what Jiraiya meant. Preparing myself for what would probably be our last moments together, I went upstairs to Hana's room and just watched as she slept. Tears began to fall from my eyes. Never again would the three of us be able to lie in bed together reading books or singing songs. Never again would we all get to play together in the backyard. Never again would I be able to sleep next to Itachi, lost in a love-filled genjutsu created to make up for the fact that we would never be able to truly devote ourselves to one another in the ultimate act of love. And never again would I be able to dream of the perfect family dinner.

As I drifted into a nightmarish day dream, I felt a pair of arms reach up and pull me into them. I squealed as they spun me around. I turned behind me to find Itachi, beautiful as ever, smiling at me with sad eyes.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he apologized, "is everything going okay?"

I nodded and said, "I was paid a visit from Jiraiya and Kakashi."

Itachi's smile fell and his gaze drifted over to Hana, snuggled up in her bed. He then sighed heavily and said, "so I take it Jiraiya told you everything?"

I bit my lip as I managed to say, "so this is it?"

"I'm afraid so," Itachi sighed. "I won't leave to meet Sasuke until you do, so we still have a couple of days."

"I see…" I said, heartbroken, "well…go spend some time with Hana first. She needs to say goodbye to her daddy."

Grimacing, Ita nodded, "right."

He walked over and sat on Hana's bed, kissing her lightly. I watched as Hana's eyes fluttered open to find her Daddy smiling down on her. She smiled brightly and outstretched her little arms for Ita to pick her up.

"Daddy!" she cheered sleepily, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, sweetheart," he said, grunting as he lifted her into his arms. He spun her around gently as Hana hugged him tightly. She looked up at Ita, smiling and began telling him all about what he had missed while he was gone. She was elated to see that Itachi was feeling well enough to play with her outside, and they ran out to climb trees and play hide-and-go-seek.

I watched them from the window as Hana ran around and Itachi chased her, spinning her around in his arms. Hana would squeal periodically, causing Itachi to break out into a belly laugh that I hadn't heard in a long time. It was the perfect family picture, and I was delighted to see the two smiling. But knowing what was about to come, I fell to my knees and started crying.

When we put Hana to bed that night, she had the biggest smile on her face, "that was so much fun, Daddy! I'm so happy you're getting well again! Will we get to do that again tomorrow?"

"Well," Itachi began in a soft voice. He smiled sadly and poked her forehead, "we can play like that again tomorrow, but I'm not really getting better. I'm actually getting worse."

"Wh-what?" Hana's face fell, "but you were able to play with me today…"

"Sweetie," I began, my voice breaking, "you know Daddy's been sick for a very long time…and he's gotten too sick. After tomorrow he has to go on one last mission."

Hana frowned and her eyes began to tear up, "how long will you be gone?"

Trying his hardest to hold back the tears, Itachi pulled Hana in to his arms and choked out, "I'm going to be gone for a very long time. I don't think I'll be coming back."

"But Daddy!" Hana cried, "why won't you come back? Don't you like living with us? Don't you like Mommy and me?"

"Of course I do, sweetie," Itachi whimpered, forcing a smile, "I love you two more than anything in the world. But I told you already that one day I will go to sleep and then never wake up, and this will happen on my last mission. I don't want to leave you, Hana, I really don't, but I'm going on this mission to protect you. Bad people are after you and your mom's family. They'll even be going after Uncle Naruto and your Grandpa pretty soon, so I have to go."

"No!" Hana sobbed, burying her chest into Ita's chest, "Daddy, you promised you'd stay with me! You promised you and Mommy wouldn't let me be alone again!"

At this point, Itachi was shaking, he was crying so hard. I covered my mouth and looked away, unable to control my sobs. Itachi gathered himself back together enough so he could tell Hana, "but I will never leave you alone, my little flower! After I die, you'll have a guardian angel looking out for you. You won't be able to see me, but I will always be at your side, taking care of you. I'll hold you in my arms and sing you to sleep, just as I always do. You may not see me, but you will feel my embrace and you will hear my voice. I will always be there for you, Hana, even when I am gone."

"I love you Daddy!" Hana choked out as she sobbed. Itachi held her tightly and then brought me into his arms and the three of us cried together. Though both days the three of us had left together were filled with love and laughter, each night was exactly the same. Hana was a little more stoic when we tucked her into bed on that second night. As soon as Itachi knelt down to kiss her, she started whimpering. Itachi then picked her back up and set her on his lap. I wrapped my arms around her and placed my hand on Ita's chest and tried my hardest not to cry.

"I will always be here," he promised us, "everything will be okay."

"Daddy?" Hana asked in a sad voice," can you sing to me…just one more time?"

Wiping his eyes, Itachi began to sing _You Raise Me Up_, just as Hana loved, "When I am down, and oh my soul so weary, when troubles come and my heart burdened be; then I am still and wait here in the silence until you come and sit a while with me."

I picked up the chorus, whimpering as I sang, "you raise me up so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up to walk on stormy seas…" Hana then joined in and sang with me, "I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be."

We sang that song together at least four times before Hana had finally drifted off to sleep. We were midway through the last round when her eyes finally closed. Ita and I kept singing as he gently placed her under the covers, kissing her cheek. He then leaned into her ear and whispered, "I will always be here, my little wild flower."

We walked back to our room in silence both nights. The first night, we lied down on our sides facing each other, both of us trembling as we looked into each other's eyes and held hands. The second, and last night, however, as Itachi closed the door and pulled me into a hug, shaking he asked, "Ari…just once more…just one more time I would like to be with you…so please, can we have just one last genjutsu?"

"No," I said coldly. I looked up at him, fighting tears and said, "You're so close to death, it doesn't matter anymore. As far as you can go, I want you to give to me tonight. If you start having too much trouble, we'll use the genjutsu, but tonight, just this one time…I want the real thing."

"Ari…" Ita mumbled. It wasn't long before he planted his lips on mine and pulled my clothes off. Soon, we were intertwined in each other's bodies. At one point, Ita started another coughing fit, but he swallowed several pills. "I'm not giving up now," he whispered as he swallowed them. He then began to kiss my collar bone, his lips traveling down my chest. I relaxed in his arms, letting him do whatever he pleased. And then, and finally then, he leaned forward, kissing me gently when it happened.

There was sharp pain at first as I winced, but I allowed a tear to escape my eye as I realized what was happening. This was far better than any genjutsu could have reproduced. It didn't last long, however, as Itachi exhausted himself. He pulled out, trembling, and rested his head on my chest as he panted.

"Ita…" I breathed out, pulling his head closer to me as I stroked his hair.

"I'm sorry…" he panted, "this is…my limit…"

"It's more than enough," I said, "thank you."

He then looked up, resting his chin on me as he activated his sharingan, "could we…continue?"

I nodded and smiled as we drifted off to sleep, spending the rest of the night in our last and final genjutsu.

The next morning, I helped Hana pack her overnight bag. She would stay the weekend at Kurenai's while I was away. I then walked downstairs and Itachi and I made a big breakfast which drew Kisame out of his living quarters, bringing him to the table. It was just like any other morning.

Only it was our last one like this.

Hana harassed her Kisame with her nicknames as usual, "Uncle Dory, guess what?"

"What?" Kisame asked, cringing at the nickname.

"I'm going to get a goldfish and name it after you!"

"Oh? Do your parents know about this?"

"Well, I haven't asked them yet, but one of these days I will. Though I heard goldfish don't live to long so I'll get a hundred! I'll name the first one your real name, Kisame, just to be nice. But after that I'm going to name my next goldfish Fishy, then Nemo, then Gill, then Bubbles, then Marlin, then Jaws, then…a bunch of other names I can't think of, and then the last one will be Dory! Because that's my favorite name for you!"

"How…cute…" Kisame grimaced, forcing a smile.

Ita spat out a laugh, "Kisame, you've been reduced to a kid's pet!"

"Shut up…" Kisame spat back.

"Oh, lighten up, Jaws! We're only poking fun at you because you're a part of the family!" I said, patting Kisame on the back.

"Glad to hear," Kisame chuckled, "say, are you ever going to call me by my real name?"

I shook my head, "not until I see it on your tombstone."

"Oh really? I bet you'll call me Kisame at least once in my lifetime!" he grinned.

"You wanna bet?" I asked slyly.

"Let's shake on it," Kisame said, "if you address me as Kisame at least once, you owe me $50. But if I die in battle or something, and you're still going around calling me Jaws on my deathbed then…you can decide what you want from my stuff."

"Alright, deal!" I said, and we shook hands.

After a fairly cheerful breakfast, we all stepped out of the house. I looked up at it and sighed heavily. The next time I would set foot in there would probably clear all my stuff out of it and get rid of any unimportant things of Itachi's. I fought back an incredible wave of sorrow that struck me in that moment.

Sensing our spirits dropping, Kisame began to walk away, "I'll leave you three alone for now."

Hana clutched Tim-Tim tightly as she held my hand. She shook, terrified of not seeing her Dad again. Itachi knelt down and held his hand out, "I've got something for you."

Hana eyed Ita curiously and opened her hand as Itachi placed a silver flower-shaped locket in her hand. Hana and I both stared at it with wide eyes. I had no idea where he found that locket, but it was absolutely beautiful.

"Itachi…" I breathed out as I knelt down to see the locket better.

Itachi then said, "open it up."

Hana pulled the locket open and her jaw dropped. On the right side of the locket was a carefully cut-out picture of Itachi, Hana, and me from the first day we brought her home. On the left side was a poem. As I read the poem, I realized it was the same poem that had been inside the box that Ita's and my necklaces came from.

_**It Is You I Dream Of**_

_A flower grows from beneath a blanket_

_Of fine and purest white_

_It reaches toward the sun for warmth,_

_For heat and for the light_

_My love for you grows stronger still,_

_Despite the surrounding cold_

_My heart is yours, bartered gone_

_For yours has it been sold_

_Its petals shine from morning dew_

_Its stem grows stiff and strong_

_It stands strong through the freezing cold_

_It stands the winter long_

_I long for you, for your soft touch_

_I miss the way you smile_

_The longer that we stay apart_

_The longer every mile_

_The flower stretches through the snow_

_It reaches toward the sun_

_And now without you the color is gone_

_The flower's petals, dun_

_But as we talk, and as we learn_

_The flower comes back to life_

_The snow now melts and goes away_

_As you take away my strife_

_Spring is here and growth abounds_

_As you and I are one_

_We are together, we are in love_

_The snow for now is done_

_I see the future, in dreams I have_

_Of our life, long and true_

_I see the times where all I need_

_Are comforting words from you_

_I see the times when winter comes_

_As winter tends to do_

_But we still love, and we still live_

_And I do still love you_

_And so we live, with children ours_

_And a life of much to see_

_With love we live, to live we love_

_Happy together are we_

_I see the flower, older now,_

_But still strong with fresh new leaves_

_I see it growing, tall and strong_

_Reaching to the eaves_

_We are now old, as years have passed_

_But old together are we_

_And strong our love still today_

_As strong as it can be_

Tears welled in my eyes as I read the poem again. How long had it been since I gave him that necklace? The poem was just something that had come in the box by chance, but now as I read it, I realized just how important that poem must have been for Ita when he left me on that fateful night. That poem represented our love, it even had an analogy to our little flower in it.

Hana looked up at Itachi as she finished reading the poem and gave him a big hug, trying hard not to cry.

"Hana," Itachi said, "be a good girl for your mother, okay?"

"Okay…" she whimpered.

"Remember to do your homework, and listen to what Mommy tells you. As you train to become a ninja, don't let anything get you down. Everyone learns at their own pace, so don't let someone try to tell you that you're not good enough for whatever reason. And most of all, just be yourself. You're a sweet, beautiful girl, and I will always love you. I will always be here. If ever you get lonely, either think of the song I sing to your or read this poem, and I will be at your side either singing or reading with you. Do you understand?" Itachi asked, his voice shakey.

"Yeah," Hana nodded her head. She then managed a smile and held out her arms for Itachi to pick her up. He did and she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and said, "I love you Daddy. And you're the best Daddy in the whole wide world!"

"I love you too, Hana," Itachi said, "you're my sweet sweet Wild Flower. I love you so much."

He then set Hana down and turned to face me. He pulled out a picture frame and handed it to me, "I got this for you too…I hope there is a day that you can move on and forget about me, but until then, I just thought you could have this in case you ever get lonely."

I took the picture frame. It was the same photo of the three of us with the same poem in Hana's locket printed on the side of the picture.

Itachi smiled and said, "I would have gotten you a locket too but we already have matching necklaces."

"Thank you," I said, "and Ita, I hate to tell you but it's impossible to forget about your one true love."

Ita smiled sadly and said, "I was afraid you would say that." We then shared a long and tight embrace followed by a passionate kiss. I picked Hana up and set her in one of Itachi's arms and I held his other hand as we made our way to just outside Konoha. There was no one at the side gate, so we said our final goodbyes there. The three of us held each other for a long moment before I took Hana in my arms and I began to walk away. As I stepped into the village, I turned back to face Itachi. He smiled sadly and waved to me as he began to back away. Hana and I waved back and blew him a kiss. Sighing heavily, Itachi turned to leave.

And that was that.

Needing to stay focused on my own mission, I dropped Hana off at Kurenai's before I left to meet up with Kakashi. As I set her down, Hana began to cry.

"Mommy, don't leave too!" she cried, rubbing her eyes. I looked up at Kurenai, completely baffled as to how I would get her sudden bout of separation anxiety to go away.

Kurenai smiled sadly and she said, "Kakashi told me everything. No one else knows though, he just passed on the info for Hana's sake since I was taking care of her this weekend."

"Oh," I said, a knot forming in my stomach.

Kurenai then sighed and said, "I am so sorry, Ari…I had no idea…"

"It's alright," I said, forcing a smile, "we're both going through the same thing right now anyway. You don't need to worry about me."

"Well, if there is anything I can do," she said, "just let me know."

"Thank you," I said, then turned my attention to my crying little girl. "Hey, sweetie, it's okay. I'll just be gone for a little while. I'll be back."

Hana looked up at me, snot coming out of her nose, "B-but…Daddy's gone forever…you can't leave me too! I don't want to be all alone!"

"Hana," I said gently, "you are not all alone. You get to play with Kurenai this weekend and I will be back in a couple of days. I promise. And remember what Daddy told you before he left?"

Hana sniffled, "he said that he'd always be with me…even though I can't see him?"

I nodded my head, "exactly. You won't be alone. Daddy will come in after Kurenai tucks you in and he will kiss you good night. You will already be asleep when that happens and you probably won't notice him, but I know your father and he never _ever_ goes to be until he kisses the prettiest flower in the world goodnight." I lowered my voice as I said the last part, trying to imitate Itachi as I poked her forehead like he did. Hana giggled and covered her forehead, a small smile creeping back.

I then kissed Hana and pulled out her new locket. I hooked it around her neck and it sat on her shoulders. It was big on her now, but when she got older, it would fit on her like my necklace did. After that moment, Hana never took her locket off again.

* * *

**Itachi**

Sasuke had indeed gotten stronger. Had it not been for the Susanoo, Sasuke's last attack would have done him in. But thanks to his trump card, Itachi could do one last thing. He stood on his feet, his limbs on fire as every muscle in his body begged him to stop moving and just give up already.

Sasuke stared at Itachi in horror and made a few feeble attempts to stop Itachi, but nothing worked.

"My eyes…my…" Itachi mumbled, but he couldn't get his words to come out. His entire body was failing. Dammit…Sasuke, you need to take your brother's eyes…!

Suddenly, Itachi felt his chest tighten and convulse as his heart finally started giving out, unable to pump any more blood to his body. Itachi fell to his knees, it felt as if he was being shot in the chest repeatedly. He vomited up a large amount of blood and his sight started to go. He couldn't stop…he was so close…!

Sasuke eventually backed up into a corner, with nowhere to go. His knees began to tremble as he stared at Itachi with wide eyes. The sight of his terrified little brother made Itachi frown slightly.

"_Just one last time…"_ he thought to himself, _"I wish I could hear you call me Big Brother…"_

He laughed to himself, knowing that would never happen as images of little Sasuke flashed in his mind. Even if only as an obstacle for him to climb over, Itachi would always be there for his little brother. Nothing would ever change that.

The little boy's face slowly turned into a little girl's. He could see Ari and Hana standing before him, holding their arms out to him as they smiled.

"Ari…Hana…" Itachi whispered. They would be alright. He would protect them forever. Itachi then looked up at his beloved little brother as memories of Sasuke and their family in Konoha flashed through his mind. How many times had Itachi poked Sasuke on the forehead and said, "Sorry, maybe some other time"?

But there would be no other time after this. Itachi smiled as he lifted his hand. No, there wouldn't need to be another time, he had done his job. Sasuke could move on after this. Ari and Hana could live the rest of their lives in peace without worrying about him. His hand shook as it tapped Sasuke's forehead. Sasuke's eyes widened as Itachi whispered, "Sorry Sasuke…but this is it…"

* * *

**Ari**

We had been fighting this sad excuse for an Akatsuki for far too long. I was losing my patience with this freak, but every time I tried to break away from the group and run off, he would catch up to me.

But then a green venus-fly-trap looking thing came up from out of the tree he was standing in and opened up to reveal the creep who was known as Zetsu.

"Itachi is down," the black half said, "Sasuke is the victor."

My heart stopped in my chest as I looked up at the masked man and Zetsu. All the color drained from my face and the world began to spin. I knew that I would never see him again…but to hear that he was actually dead…

"Ari," Kakashi said in a low voice, "go. I'll distract them."

Without wasting a second I took off running, sprinting past the two Akatsuki.

"Ari! Wait!" Naruto called out for me, but I ignored him. Behind me, I could hear the masked man turn his attention to the rest of my team.

"Let her go for now," the masked man said, his voice changing suddenly. Itachi had warned me that the masked man was really Madara Uchiha, but when I looked into his sharingan behind the mask for a brief moment during that fight, I couldn't help but feel that something was off with Madara. I didn't know who that was behind the mask, but it wasn't the man who sent me to the flaming pits of hell.

I ran in the direction of the Uchiha hideout which wasn't far from here. I ran as fast as I could, taking on speeds that only the Fourth Hokage, Minato Sensei, could reach with his teleportation jutsu. As I ran, I entered a clearing where I saw Kisame and some white-haired boy fighting. I brushed passed them, my eyes fixed forward. I glanced back long enough to make eye contact with Kisame, who's wild grin fell as he realized what had just happened.

I didn't bother to stop, I had to find Itachi! When I reached the rubble that was left over from the fierce battle, I stopped in my tracks. Both Sasuke and Itachi were lying on the ground next to each other, out cold.

"No…" I whimpered. I ran over to Sasuke first, afraid to examine Ita. I did a light medical jutsu on Sasuke to stabilize him. He was badly beaten, but he would be okay. I then gulped hard, turning to face my dead lover. "Ita…?" I croaked. I pulled him into my arms, his head rested on my chest. Crying, I brushed the hair out of his face. His eyes were closed and I could still feel him breathing. "Itachi, please wake up!" I whimpered.

As if he heard me, he opened his eyes weakly and looked up at me in a daze. I couldn't stop crying as I held him, my hand clasped around his. He said nothing, and I couldn't stop crying long enough to tell him that I loved him.

But then I heard his voice say to me through our telepathic bond, _*Please stop crying…everything will be okay. I'm in no pain. I can protect you now.*_

_*Ita…I…I love you so much!*_

_*I know…I love you too. And remember, I will never leave your side.*_

_*You better not, Ponytail!*_

_*Hehe…have I ever mentioned how much I love your nicknames for people?*_

I paused and eyed him suspiciously through the tears. He gave me a weak smile and continued, _*It's adorable…in fact, I think the first time I heard you call me Ita was when I fell in love with you.*_

_*We were four…*_

_*So? It might not have been love then, but when I heard your sweet little voice shouting at me and saying, 'Ita'! I was hooked, you never left my thoughts.*_

_*Oh, shut up…just shut that silver tongue of yours up, please! This flattery is too much…*_

_*I…I think I'm going…* _Ita thought suddenly, his voice getting quieter and quieter. I could feel his body running cold and his breathing shallow. His heart had stopped beating several minutes before; I assumed he was having a heart attack.

Pursing my lips to keep from crying to loudly I thought to him, _*then let us part with this…*_ I pulled Ita's head close to mine and we shared a long kiss. Ita closed his eyes and allowed a tear to escape as his grip on my hand slowly loosened before it fell to the ground. I could hear his last thoughts slowly get quieter and quieter as his soul left his body and he died in my arms, his lips on mine.

* * *

**Itachi**

He began to lose his balance and his head fell into the wall before his knees buckled and he collapsed on to his back, the darkness swallowing him. He thought he had died, but he awoke momentarily to find Ari holding him in her arms, crying. He tried to calm her, tried to tell her that he loved her, but his body wouldn't move. He realized Ari's hand was on his so he sent her his thoughts. Ari froze, listening to him, and she tried to force a smile through her tears as she gently kissed his lips. Itachi closed his eyes, and he could feel himself being freed from his body before everything turned white.

_*Ari,* _he thought as he passed, _*I love you more than anything else in this world…I will be there for you always…*_


	18. Chapter 17: Pein and Pain, What's Worse?

And just to show that life really does move on, no matter how depressed I made myself with Chapter 16, here's another chapter! :D

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

I would wake up just about every night from nightmares. Mom was gone. Dad was gone. Kushina and Minato were gone. All but two of the Taile Beasts were gone.

And now Itachi was gone.

Hyperventilating, I ran into my closet and pulled out Ita's Akatsuki cloak. That and his Konoha headband were all I had left of him. I hadn't gone back to the house yet, and I turned down Kisame's offer to clean it out for me. I left his necklace with him…it was my gift to him after all, and I wasn't one to take back gifts.

I wrapped the cloak around me, rocking myself back and forth as I cried. I missed him so much…it was unbearable! My heart was broken and shattered and I wanted nothing more than to end my misery and join him, but I knew I couldn't. I couldn't leave Hana all alone in this cruel world.

Sighing heavily, I stood up and went downstairs. I sat on the floor of my living room, unable to focus on anything in particular. I curled up in Itachi's cloak and took a deep breath, inhaling his sweet scent. I still couldn't believe he was gone. I felt so…empty.

"Mom…?" a little voice came from out of the blue. I turned to find Hana holding Tim-Tim tightly in her arms, her locket tucked inside her nightgown. She looked at me with a puzzled expression, but her eyes were wide and her cheeks tear-stained.

I stood up, embarrassed by the state Hana had found me in. I sighed heavily and walked over to her, "Hi sweetie…did you have a bad dream?"

Hana nodded her head but didn't say anything. I knelt down and asked, "do you want to talk about it?"

Tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head but wrapped her little arms around me whimpering, "I miss Daddy…"

Unable to keep my composure, I began to cry as well as I pulled Hana into a hug. I picked her up and walked her over to the couch, stroking her hair. "I do too, Hana, I do too," I whispered, my voice shaking. Trying to stay strong, I wiped my eyes and forced a smile, "you know what I do when I miss Daddy? I wrap myself up in his cloak like I'm doing now to keep warm. It smells just like him and when I'm bundled up inside, it feels like he's hugging me, just as he promised."

Hana looked up at me and rubbed her eyes, her lip quivering, "does it work…?"

"Yeah," I said, "come on, let's wrap you up inside." I unbuttoned the cloak and Hana snuggled close to me as I cradled her, both of us enveloped by Itachi's scent. Neither of us could admit it, but on this particular night, his scent alone couldn't do too much to ease our sorrows. Hana kept crying, and in an attempt to distract her, I turned the television on and put _Finding Nemo_ in. The movie wore on and Dory's antics eventually got us both laughing. I inhaled deeply, enjoying Ita's scent as the two fish sailed through the E.A.C. when there came a knock on the door.

I stiffened, and quickly took off the cloak, stuffing it under the couch cushion. Hana whimpered when I took her father's cloak away but I kissed her cheek and held up the locket around her neck.

"It's just for a little bit," I said, "but for now, read the poem. That makes you feel better, doesn't it?"

Hana nodded and opened her locket up, reading the several lines she had probably memorized by now. I went over to the door and opened it, surprised to find a solemn Iruka and a really depressed Naruto.

"Sorry this is late," Iruka apologized, "but may we come in?"

"Sure thing," I said, opening the door wider. Hana stood on the couch looking to see who the guests were. When she saw Naruto, her face lit up and she ran to give him a hug.

"Uncle Naruto!" she cheered, jumping on him. I sighed in relief. That was the first time I had seen her smile all week.

"Hey…Hana…" Naruto replied in a forlorn voice. Hana looked up at him confused, her eyes saddened.

"Do you miss Daddy too?" she asked.

"What?" Naruto gave her a confused look. I held my breath and took Hana into my arms, shaking my head.

"It's been a long week," I explained. I peered over to the couch to make sure the Akatsuki cloak was completely out of sight. I had a feeling it would have to stay there for a couple hours at the least if Naruto was here. "But anyway, what's up? What are you two doing out so late?"

Naruto looked to the ground, his lip quivering. I raised an eyebrow. What had the kid so worked up? Iruka sighed heavily and explained, "Naruto's had a rough day. He got some pretty tough news and I think he just needs someone to talk to. I gave him a pep talk, but you're really the driving force that will be able to cheer him up."

I nodded, biting my lip. Hana still needed me, I couldn't just put her off to bed if she was going to have more nightmares…but what was wrong with Naruto? Sighing heavily, I put Hana on the ground and said, "sweetie, I need to talk to Naruto for a little bit, do you want to go upstairs and finish watching _Nemo_?"

Hana shook her head, "I want to watch _Nemo_ with you and Daddy…"

I sighed again…here we go… "what if I tucked you into Daddy's cloak tonight and you can watch _Nemo _in my room? You can sleep with me the rest of the night too. I'll be up in a few minutes."

Hana looked up at me with hopeful eyes, a small but sad smile creeping up on her face, "mmkay," she said.

Now came the hard part: getting that damn cloak back up to my room.

"Could you excuse us for a few minutes?" I asked. Iruka and Naruto nodded and went into the kitchen. I swiftly knelt by the couch and stuffed the cloak into my shirt and ran up the stairs and to my room as fast as I could. I then ran back downstairs, grabbed Hana, popped the movie out of the DVD player and ran back up to my room and popped the movie into the player on my television. I lifted the covers of my bed and set Hana down, draping the cloak over her followed by the sheets and my quilt.

"There," I said, tucking the blankets up to her chin, "isn't that better?"

Hana nodded as I handed her Tim-Tim to hold onto. I kissed her forehead and said, "I will be just a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay!" Hana smiled.

Finally, I was able to return to the kitchen, and was shocked to find Naruto motionless at the table. He hadn't moved an inch. Normally, he would have followed me around, trying to see what I was hiding or be shuffling through my pantry for food. But tonight…something bad must've happened.

"So what's going on, Boxers?" I asked, shortening his Foxy-Boxers nickname.

Naruto remained silent for a long time before he sighed and said, "Tsunade called me into her office this morning…Pervy-Sage, he…well, I mean Master Jiraiya…" Naruto pursed his lips and began to cry. My eyes widened as I realized what he was trying to say.

"Oh my god…" I said aloud, "Naruto…"

I then looked up at Iruka who sighed heavily and asked, "can I just leave him with you?"

"Yeah, sure thing," I said.

"Thank you, I'll just leave you two alone then," Iruka said, bowing. I walked Iruka out and then returned to the kitchen to find Naruto still crying, his head bowed as he gritted his teeth. I knelt down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder, rubbing his back.

"Naruto, I am so sorry," I said. Naruto looked up at me with tearful eyes as he threw his arms around me, sobbing.

"He's…he's gone!" he cried, "and I never got to say goodbye!"

"I know, honey," I hushed him, stroking his hair, "Believe me, I know…everything will be okay."

"Why did he have to be so stupid?" Naruto spat, "he didn't have to go at it alone! He didn't have to go after Pein all by himself! He could've just asked for help! He didn't have to die!"

I took a shaky breath. Boy, did that sound familiar…

"Have you had dinner yet?" I asked out of the blue, trying to distract him.

Naruto looked up at me and wiped his eyes, confused, "what?"

"I take that as a no," I said, I then sighed and said, "alright, well, it's late so I can't give you anything too heavy. Do you want some dumplings? I made them earlier today."

Naruto looked up at me and sniffled as he nodded his head. I smiled warmly and said, "Hana's been having a pretty rough time too. She's watching a movie in my room if you want to go join her while I heat these up.

"O…okay…" Naruto said. He went upstairs to join Hana as I heated the dumplings up. I wasn't worried about Naruto finding Ita's cloak because I had tucked Hana in well enough and she knew not to show it to Naruto. I went back upstairs to my room and opened the door to find Naruto sitting on the bed next to Hana, both of them watching _Nemo_ intently. I looked over at the TV to find the fish at the Dentist's office rolling around in piles of algae. The shrimp was running around trying to clean everything and Naruto and Hana began to burst out laughing. I shook my head and smiled. Those kids…

"Hey, give me some space," I joked as I took a seat in between the two. I handed them each a dumpling and a glass of water and the three of us finished _Nemo_ and then popped in Naruto's favorite kid's movie (and Hana's second favorite, coincidentally), _Toy Story_. I crawled under the covers and held Hana tightly, getting underneath Ita's cloak. Naruto, being one who hated sleeping under covers, snuggled close to me, lying on top of the quilt. Eventually, the two fell asleep, my arms around both of them and their heads resting on my shoulders, so I turned off the TV. I sighed heavily, lying awake in the dark. I had to stay strong, I had to comfort these two and protect them from their sorrows.

However, I had never felt so alone before in my life, and I desperately needed someone to protect me from my sorrows.

Naruto and Hana were resilient people. As the days wore on and reality that someone most precious to them was gone, they were slowly starting to move on and recover. Hana would still wake up in the night crying, but all it took for her to feel comforted was the protection of Daddy's cloak or a verse from _You Raise Me Up_ or just reading the poem in her locket. Naruto was asked by the great sage toads to train at Mount Myoboku which would help him achieve one of the ultimate shinobi forms: sage mode. He left with them, and for the month he was off training, things started to settle down and return to near normal.

Almost.

Old enough to register, I signed Hana up for preschool at the academy. Being the sweet little thing she was, she instantly made friends and became one of the more popular girls in the class. Not popular like Izayoi was, gaining attention through her looks, but popular in the sense that she was a genuinely likeable person. Her teacher raved about how kind she was to others and how mature she was for her age. I was proud of Hana as she excelled in class, but there were times that Hana's progress only made me feel worse, because I realized then that Itachi would never be able to see her grow up.

Under the impression that Haru was Jiraiya's main source for the Akatsuki and the one who revealed Pein's location, Tsunade called me in and requested I join the autopsy team of the body Fukasaku brought back with him after Jiraiya's demise. I agreed, under the impression that Pein had in fact been killed as I had taken a leave of absence when Ita died and was not yet up to speed on everything that was going on, so when I stepped into the autopsy room with Shizune, I was shocked to find a completely different person lying on the table. He still had the Rinnegan and the orange hair, but this man was completely different from the Pein I met.

"Fukasaku says that there were six bodies that all collectively made up Pein which Jiraiya fought," Shizune explained. I nodded my head, taking a scalpel and examining the body more closely.

"I ran into Pein once before without realizing he was the Leader of the Akatsuki," I said, "Though it was only one. I wondered why his skin was so cold…but now I realize it's because the body he was using was that of a corpse."

"What?" Shizune asked, shocked. They had been running the autopsy for the past month and the decryption unit was busy trying to crack and encrypted message that Jiraiya had left behind. They had the message figured out for the most part, but the autopsy was still running as a mystery to the team. "How could you tell?"

I took the scalpel and sliced open the hand where it was easiest to see, "if you examine the muscles closely, you can see signs of Rigor Mortis. The calcification around the muscles has dissipated since the body has been dead, however, the amount of calcification left over from the Rigor Mortis does not match up with how long this body has supposedly been dead for."

"Which could explain the chakra rods," Shizune noted. She pulled out a rod that was sitting on the counter next to the exam table. I took on one my hand, looking at it closely. Huh…and all this time I was grossed out because I thought he was just into piercings…

I thought hard about the evidence before me and walked over to a window. Shizune continued the autopsy and began examining the body more. I stared out the window and noticed what looked to be a missile launched into the sky.

"Shizune…" I gasped. The missile turned into missiles and began striking several buildings. The room shook as several explosions sounded. My heart began racing inside my chest and I had a feeling that I knew who those attacks were coming from.

"What was that?" she asked, panicked.

I threw my scrubs off and ran out the door, "I'll have to help you with the autopsy later! Send word to Lady Tsunade that Pein is attacking the village!"

I ran outside the hospital and looked around. Sure enough, I caught a glimpse of the red and black Akatsuki robes leaping atop the buildings. People were running around screaming in a wild panic. I began to run home to grab my gear, but then I saw the next explosion: it was at the Academy.

"HANA!" I screamed, sprinting towards the school. I let out a scream as a giant centipede with the Rinnegan came crashing down on the street, crushing several individuals with it. I helped as many people as I could, but I had to get to the Academy. I had to get to my flower!

I finally reached the academy to see one of Pein's bodies standing outside the academy as the children came running out screaming. The sensei's tried to detain the students and hide them inside their classrooms, but everyone was in such a mad panic, that it didn't do any good. I scanned the crowd, I didn't see Hana anywhere!

Pein locked eyes onto me and began walking towards me. I looked over at some of the teachers and motioned for them to get the students to the evacuation tunnels. They quickly caught on and began gathering the children.

"Ariala Uzumaki…" he said, "if you're hear then I must be in the right place."

"Why are you attacking the village?" I asked in a low voice, "Are you after Naruto?"

"Among other things," Pein answered curtly, "now tell me, where can I find Naruto Uzumaki and Hana Nii?"

My heart stopped in my chest. Naruto was out of the village and safe for the time being. But what did he want with Hana?

"Why do you need to know that?" I gulped hard.

Pein stared down at me with emotionless eyes and stated, "because the three of you are coming with me."

My eyes widened. The three of us? What did Hana and I have to do with his plot?

Oh no…was it because we were half-breeds?

I glanced over to see the line of students being evacuated, but still no sign of Hana. I began to stall for time so the academy could all escape.

"Now why do you need us, Zombie-boy?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips, "I'm telling ya, I can't do much good for the Akatsuki and Hana's about as much of a fighter as I am a princess! There's not much we can do to help you guys out."

"Whether you're any help to our organization or not is not the deciding factor in this," Pein stated, "What we need are your chakras. Or, more specifically, your souls."

I held my breath. Well piss, that didn't sound good…

At about that moment, I spotted the top of Hana's head running out with the preschoolers. I had to give her enough time to get the shelter. She would be safe there.

Of course, with my luck, Hana looked up at around that moment and saw me. She began shoving her way through the line of kids and the teachers started calling out for her. I held my breath and tried to motion for her to run away, but I was too late. Pein turned to find Hana standing on the other side of him. He gave a small smile, "well, I guess this is my lucky day…"

"Dammit, Hana, run!" I cried out, but Pein lifted his hand an invisible force pulled Hana off her feet and into his hand as she screamed.

"MOMMY!" she cried. As she reached him, Pein grasped hold of the collar of her shirt and held her off the ground.

"Dammit, you bastard!" I spat, glaring at Pein. I made to attack him, but he used the same force on my to pull me into a chokehold.

"You won't be able to escape," he said, "you're coming with me."

* * *

**Tsunade**

She was busy transmitting her chakra to Katsuyu to heal the wounded when she heard feet tap the ground. She turned just as Pein landed, throwing Ari and Hana to the ground.

Tsunade gasped, "Ari!" she called out, "what happened?"

Hana was crying and Ari staggered onto her hands and knees, coughing as she held her throat.

"It's been a long time, Lady Tsunade, the last remaining member of the legendary Sanin," Pein said, "you and I have something to discuss."

Finally catching her breath, Ari sat up and warned, "Tsunade, get the hell out of here!"

Pein in response kicked her to the ground, pressing his foot on her back as Ari cried out in pain. Hana let out a scream. Tsunade bit her lip as she watched the two in Pein's custody. What did he want with them?

"Wait…" Tsunade noted, "you're that child aren't you? That boy from long ago."

"So you do remember me then," Pein said with a straight face. Ari looked up, glaring at Pein confused.

"What…?" Ari groaned, but Pein in turned pressed her harder against the ground.

"Naruto Uzumaki, where is he?" Pein asked.

Tsunade took a shaky breath, she had to protect Naruto. "No one knows," she said.

"We have no collected almost all of the jinchuuriki," Pein explained, "so the balance of power between the villages is now gone. It's meaningless to continue harboring the Nine Tails now. Answer my question or I will kill the both of them. Starting with the child."

Pein aimed his hand at Hana, pulling her up into his grasp by some invisible force. Hana cried out as a rod extended from the man's hand and he pointed it at her neck.

"HANA!" Ari cried out, she narrowed her eyes, her irises turning a blood red like the Nine Tails' as she growled, "Leave her alone! She has nothing to do with this!"

"So your target is Naruto after all," Tsunade spat. Pein said nothing but pressed the rod against Hana's neck. She whimpered as he broke the skin lightly, causing a trickle of blood to escape. Ari let out a growl, struggling under Pein, but could do nothing, for the more she struggled, the closer Pein drew the rod to the girl's neck. Tsunade held her breath. Haru had been killed protecting his comrades in Root on a mission, and now Hana was all Ari had left in this world. If Pein killed her…Tsunade didn't know what would happen.

"The rising conflicts are imminent," Pein sighed heavily, "The kindling fires of war are rising, and we will contain those fires. If you cooperate with us, we will not be averse to helping you. From the state of this village, you must be aware of our strength by now. Even your very own demons are struggling in my grasp."

"Don't underestimate the five kage!" Tsunade snapped back, "you are just terrorists striving to destroy the peace that our predecessors worked so hard to achieve and to maintain. We will not head you!"

"Such arrogance!" Pein growled. A gust of wind seemed to come from him, blowing Tsunade back slightly. What power. Pein raised the hand with the rod and yelled, "you talk about peace and yet you know nothing! Tell me where Naruto Uzumaki is or I will kill the half-breed!"

Tsunade froze, staring into little Hana's terrified eyes. He would not hesitate to kill the girl.

"Tsunade!" Ari called out, terror in her eyes, "do not tell Pein where Naruto is! He plans to kill the both of us regardless what you do!"

"Mommy…" Hana whimpered.

"I'm right here, sweetie," Ari said gently, "remember what Daddy said!"

"I'm trying…" Hana began to cry, "Where is he?"

"He's with you, right now," Ari assured, "but you've got to stay calm, I'll get us out of this!"

Pein glared down at Ari and said as he went to cut Hana down, "and just how do you plan to do that when your child is already dead?"

"Like THIS!" Ari grunted as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and glowed blue. She lifted her hand, pointing it at Hana, whose body also started to glow blue. Pein's rod bounced right off of her and in shock, he dropped the girl. Tsunade stared at Ari with wide eyes. Had she inherited Chinatsu Uzumaki's psychic abilities? Ari took the opportunity to grasp hold of Pein's foot and threw him off of her as she rolled onto her back and caught Hana before sitting up.

Ari stood and ran to Tsunade's side, holding her crying daughter tightly. "Everything is alright," Ari breathed, "See? Mom can handle it…"

"So you inherited that trick from your mother?" Tsunade asked Ari in a low voice.

"Yeah, among other things," Ari shrugged, "I've been playing with my mind powers a bit lately, figured out I had a few more tricks up my sleeve other than a chakra shield."

"Well whatever you can dish out, Ari, now would be a good time to use this," Tsunade said, "I received intel that each body of Pein has a different ability. This one can attract and repel anything with the command of his mind."

"Great," Ari groaned.

Pein recovered, glaring at the group as he spat out, "What you like to call peace, has only brought violence on us all."

"And this hasn't?" Ari spat back.

"I cannot say that everything the Leaf has done in the past was just or correct," Tsunade continued off of Ari in a low voice, "but your actions here are unforgivable."

"Be careful what you say," Pein warned, "this is your final warning from a god. Where is Naruto Uzumaki?"

* * *

**Ari**

I stood by Tsunade, holding Hana in my arms. She was still crying and I trembled as I stared this man down. Had he not been a kind aid to me in the past? Had he not allowed me to take Hana home and protect her as my own? Where was all this coming from?

"Where is Naruto Uzumaki?" Pein asked again, getting angry.

"Nothing personal, you said?" I spat at him, "well, it seems like you have a whole lot of pent up aggression towards me and my family…"

Pein ignored my jab and ordered, "Speak."

Tsunade and Pein shared a long staring contest as they each glared at each other. Beyond us, explosions continued to sound off in the village. Dammit…everything that Itachi had fought to protect just went right down the drain…I had made a huge error in my judgment of Pein. I made the mistake of thinking he was a decent man when I first met him. True, he had warned me that Naruto was a target of the Akatsuki, but this? This was just…it was wretched. Peace? That was all a load of bullshit!

Suddenly Pein closed his eyes and breathed in heavily. When he opened them again, he said, "well, it would appear that Naruto's not here, but at Mount Myoboku."

Tsunade and I both jumped. How did he find that out?

"Mount Myoboku," Pein said, "the Toads' hidden village. Well I will linger here no longer…but I am taking the half-breeds with me."

"Like hell you are!" I spat back, but Pein ripped Hana back out of my arms and into his as he lifted into the air.

"MOMMY!" Hana screamed bloody murder. Oh no! What was he going to do to her?

"Feel pain…contemplate pain…accept pain…know pain…" Pein said as he rose higher and higher. My heart raced through my chest. No…I was _not_ going to lose my flower!

"Wait, Pein, come back!" Tsunade called out. I fought back the tears as I watched Pein grow more and more distant. He rested Hana on his shoulder and his lifted both of his hands. Hana held onto his cloak for dear life, riding piggy-back. I looked into her eyes, terrified of what could happen.

"Itachi…please…" I begged out loud, falling to my knees as I began to cry. This couldn't be happening…

"Those who do not know pain will never understand true peace!" Pein called down to us. He lifted his arms higher in the air and Tsunade and her ANBU took off running towards him.

"Pein! What do you think you're doing?" Tsunade called out. I could feel an enormous amount of chakra coming from his body and the earth began to shake. He meant to destroy the village! Hana began to lose her grip on Pein's cloak and started screaming. I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to save the village; I didn't know how to save Hana.

A bright beam of light flashed throughout the village, blinding me. And then the next thing I heard massive explosions as buildings fell, crumpling at my feet as the village was obliterated. I heard faint screams ring out, and I couldn't tell if they belonged to Hana or anyone else.

"Itachi!" I cried out again, begging, "PLEASE PROTECT OUT FLOWER!"

When the dust cleared, I was lying on the ground, underneath the rubble. I felt something warm surrounding me like a blanket. I opened my eyes, and realized that Katsuyu, Tsunade's snail, had shielded me.

"Lady Ariala," she asked, "are you alright?"

I coughed, choking on the dust. As I looked up, I saw nothing but a massive crater where Konoha once stood.

"No…" I gasped, "How could…this happen?"

Before reality started to finally kick in, Pein landed back on the ground, Hana in hand, and grasped me by my hair, pulling me out of the rubble and into the center of the crater. He then sat us down in front of him on our knees. I glanced to the side and saw another one of his bodies walking towards us. I bit my lip, by the looks of it, this was the Pein that could suck your souls out.

"And now finally I can be rid of you nuisances," Pein spat, "I should have never let this child leave with you and Itachi…"

"Mommy…" Hana whimpered as the soul-sucking Pein placed his hand on her head.

"It's…" I began, but was at a loss for words. Tears escaped my eyes as I realized this was it. I didn't care what happened to me, but Hana at least deserved a chance to live!" "Itachi…help us…"

And as if it were heaven-sent, Pein was momentarily distracted as a large cloud of smoke appeared before us. Standing now a few feet away from us were several toads with Naruto on top. While he was distracted, I pulled out a kunai and sliced Pein in the ankle, causing him to hop back. I then took Hana in my arms and began to run away. I had to protect her, no matter what the cost!

"No you don't…!" Pein growled, lifting his hand. He used his shinra tensei to pull us back towards him. I yelped as I struck my head, rolling on the ground. When I tried to stand, I was too disoriented to balance, but I looked down and for the most part, Hana seemed unharmed. I looked up at Naruto, he was still disoriented as the smoke cleared. I looked to my left and saw Sakura running towards us, trying to help. I motioned for her to stay back, but remain still. She needed to get Hana the hell away from this place!

Pein began walking towards us. I stood on my feet, drawing a kunai, but Pein lifted me off the ground, throwing me at least ten feet to the right. I hit my head again, landing harder this time. And as I made contact with the ground, my leg twisted underneath me upon impact and I heard something snap.

"MOM!" Hana cried yet again. She began running towards me, but Pein blew her away. I sat up at the sounds of her screams. When she landed, she began sobbing, unable to suppress her wales. Despite the pain I was in, I leapt to my feet and ran to Hana's side. I practically collapsed on the ground as I reached her. I sat her up, she was crying uncontrollably and she had a scratch on her forehead, but for some reason, she wasn't hit nearly as hard as I had been. I looked back to see if Pein would blow us away again, but he just stood there watching us.

I realized then that Pein could only use that technique so much before he needed to recharge. I looked back down at Hana, her face covered in tears and dirt, much like the day I had found her. The indescribable need to protect her overwhelmed me in that instant as I began to cry. I tried to pick her up and carry her out of harm's way, but my body couldn't do more than tremble in pain.

But there was still one thing I could do.

A memory flashed in my mind from several years before. It was faint, but all I remember was a scary man coming after me. My father had him distracted and my mother tried to take me away from the danger, but beaten and bloodied, she could stand no longer. I looked up at my mother as her body and eyes began to glow a light blue, she smiled down at me as she cried before she gave me her last light, her last ounce of power to protect me.

I wasn't as skilled a psychic as she was, but I could still protect Hana. I could still give her my light. I looked down at my precious little flower, my angel, and forced a smile as I touched my hands to her cheeks. She stared up at me, confused, as I wiped the tears from her eyes.

"My little wild flower," I whispered, "no matter what happens, Daddy and I will always protect you."

"What do you mean, Mommy?" she asked, terrified. I focused my energy and her body began glowing blue. I forced almost all of my chakra into her body, creating a shield. I could feel my energy drain as I did so as I gave at least four times the amount of chakra I had used to prevent Pein from slitting her throat earlier. This amount of chakra that I gave her, she could pass on to Sakura and the both of them would be protected long enough for Naruto to defeat Pein.

"Go to Sakura," I said gently, "she'll protect you!"

"But what about you?" she began to cry again, "Mommy! You said you would never leave me alone!"

"And I will never ever leave you alone!" I shouted back at her, "I will always be here for you! But you have to do me a favor and run! Run as fast as you can, save yourself! I promised Daddy, and I promised your mother, your real mother, that I would protect you with my life! Do you understand?"

Whimpering, Hana nodded. I looked back at Pein who glared at me, he lifted his hand again to attack. I turned back at Hana and pushed her away from me as I tried to stand, "Now, GO!"

Hana turned around and started running towards Sakura. Pein went to attack Hana, but his jutsu nearly blew Hana's hair in the wind. She turned back in surprise when she felt the sensation, confused.

"What?" Pein's eyes widened in shock before he glared at me. Hana looked back at me, confused as to what I had done to her.

"Keep going!" I screamed. Hana jumped, never hearing me raise my voice at her before, but then continued running. She made her way to Sakura safely, and as she leapt into Sakura's arms in tears, the chakra shield I had created surrounded both of them. "Sakura!" I called out, "get out of here! Protect Hana!"

Sakura frowned, wiping tears out of her eyes as she nodded, keeping her distance from us. Pein glared at the two, but I took a step in front of them. "I'm your opponent now," I said.

"You will throw your life away for some orphaned child?" Pein asked in disbelief.

"She's not an orphan," I spat at him. My entire body was screaming at me to stop, but I fought the urge to stand down as I said, "she is my daughter…AND SHE'S ITACHI'S FLOWER!"

Not amused, Pein simply lifted his hand and shot me into the air, higher than he had done before. I crashed to the ground hard, seeing stars as I landed. The air rushed out of my lungs and I fought to stay awake.

"Hmph, you certainly aren't putting up a fight," Pein noted. He was right, his attacks shouldn't have been fazing me the way they were. If anything, I should have at least been putting up some sort of fight. But I was drained. No matter how strong I was physically, I just couldn't muster up the desire to fight. "Has Itachi's death impacted you that much?" Pein asked. I winced as he said Ita's name. Pein continued, "No matter. I will just put you out of your misery…"

I felt a massive gush of wind blow against me as I was flung high into the air. As I rose, I heard Naruto screaming, "Ari! What are you doing?"

I began to drop back to the ground. I could have fought, I should have been stronger than this, but I simply could not fight any more. I couldn't stand, no matter how hard I tried. I closed my eyes, a tear escaped my eye. I couldn't do anything without Itachi…

But as I crashed to the ground, I felt a pair of arms reach out and catch me, before they gently lowered me to the ground.

* * *

**Naruto**

As the dust cleared, Naruto looked around. Where was he? This wasn't Konoha. But then, he saw a form being launched up into the air and Naruto gasped. It was Ari!

"Ari! What are you doing?" He cried out, but the blood drained from his face when he noticed Ari's eyes were closed. She didn't move, she didn't struggle, she wasn't even putting up a fight. What had happened to her? He watched in horror as she crashed to the ground, her body creating a dent in the earth as she landed. "ARI!" he cried out, but she didn't answer, her body only laid on the ground, broken.

"So much for the Demon of the Leaf…" an orange-haired man in an Akatsuki cloak noted. He then looked up at Naruto with rippled eyes. Naruto glared at the man. It was Pein! But soon, five other bodies gathered, and all six members of Pein stood before him.

Tsunade then appeared, her body weakened as well, as she stepped in front to protect Naruto, "I…am the fifth hokage…I will not let your trample on the dreams of my predecessors!"

"It seems you understand a little about pain," Pein said, "but I have no use for you, the one I seek…" one of the bodies leapt forward to attack Tsunade, but Naruto wasted no time and struck down the body.

"..Is me!" he called out as he took down Tsunade's attacker. "Gamakichi!" Naruto called out. The large toad leapt down from his perch as Naruto ordered, "take Granny and get out of here and protect the rest of the villagers. I don't want them involved in this. I can take over from here."

An ANBU helped Tsunade onto Gamakichi's head and the frog took off for a safer place. Naruto then looked over at where Ari was laying. She wasn't moving a muscle. Anger began to well inside of him. What could have happened that could bring even her down?

"It seems your precious elder sister was broken before she even tried to take me on," Pein stated, "it looks like the death of her lover was too much for even the Demon of the Leaf to handle. She barely managed to protect that other half-breed child but didn't even bother putting up a fight. How pitiful…"

"Her…lover…?" Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He didn't even know Ari was dating someone. But who?

"You mean you didn't know?" Pein raised an eyebrow, "well, it's to be expected…I'm amazed you were able to accept her for the monster she is…but I can't imagine how you would have felt if she had told you that she was secretly seeing a man who wiped out his own people."

"What?" Naruto's heart began to race. Who was Pein even talking about?

Naruto's mind flashed back to a memory, the day Team 7 got their official picture taken. He couldn't help but think of the way Sasuke introduced her to Sakura…

"_She's a friend of the family and dated…my brother."_

Naruto thought it was strange that Ari was so friendly with Itachi during that mission in the Land of Ogres, but he had pushed that aside as reconnecting with an old teammate. She had mentioned that she and Itachi were no different than Naruto and Sasuke were. But…he couldn't have actually have been her lover, could he?

"_Shut the hell up, you bastard…_"

Naruto jumped and looked over as he heard Ari's voice growl. She staggered to her feet as if someone else was helping her up. Ari looked up at Pein, her eyes a blood red as dark markings outlined them similar to the Kyuubi. A red mass of chakra began to surround her body, but concentrated into a red light that outlined her body. What looked to be armor made of pure energy alone surrounded her shoulders and waist, and nine chakra tails whipped around behind her. Ari lowered her stance, ready to fight. She wouldn't give up so easily.

"And he wasn't just some lover…_he was supposed to be my husband!_"

* * *

**Ari**

When I awoke, I felt as if I were floating at first. The arms which caught me held me gently, keeping me safe.

_*I'm…alive…? But how?*_ I thought, but I could feel myself drifting in an out of consciousness. As I attempted to regain consciousness, sharp pains would stab me everywhere as my body begged for me to give up. I was floating between a state of life and death, the only thing that was keeping me alive was this pair of arms which pulled me to my feet, cradling me gently.

_*You didn't actually think I wouldn't keep my promise, did you?* _A voice whispered inside my head. I-Itachi…? I must've been dead or dreaming. Itachi's voice chuckled at my confused thoughts and he said, _*You don't have to fight to stay standing anymore. Let me carry you and I will protect you.*_

I managed to stagger back onto my feet with what felt like strings holding me up. I glared at Pein as he revealed my secret to Naruto, cursing Itachi's name.

"_Shut the hell up, you bastard…"_ I growled at him. With a wave of strength and chakra that was foreign to me flooding through my body, I could feel myself take on a new form as chakra swirled around me and took the shape of armor and nine tails. This must have been what they called a Bijuu Mode. This power…it was like anything I had ever known before. Pein and Naruto both turned to me in shock as I spat out, "And he wasn't just some lover…_he was supposed to be my husband!_"

I roared as I lunged towards Pein at speeds I had never known before. Shaking his confusion off, Naruto joined me as we fought against Pein as a duo. No matter how many times we attacked any of the bodies, however, we couldn't land a hit. With all of the bodies together, their shared field of vision made it impossible for us to sneak up on any of them.

"That's it, I don't have time for this," Naruto spat, "It's time I use my new jutsu! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto summoned two shadow clones, and Pein began to speak, "I see, so you've mastered sage mode just like Jiraiya Sensei."

Naruto and I both froze, staring at the man, "Jiraiya…" Naruto said, "…you called him Sensei?"

"That's right," Pein said, "I also learned jutsu from Jiraiya. He was once my master as well. And that makes us sibling students. Sharing the same teacher, we are able to understand each other. Our master desired peace."

"Just shut the hell up already!" Naruto roared, raising his hand to reveal a massive Rasenshuriken.

"Naruto, don't! You aren't supposed to use that jutsu!" I warned, but I stopped myself from speaking further. If Naruto was in sage mode, then he wasn't using his own chakra to build that jutsu up…which means the Rasenshuriken wouldn't attack him with Pein. "Everything you've done here," Naruto spat, "all this destruction, what part of all that is peaceful?"

"You simply cannot see the forest for the trees," Pein explained, "You are unable to comprehend the meaning of peace or what I am trying to accomplish. Just let yourself be captured. Surrender, and your death will lead to peace."

Naruto glared at Pein and threw his Rasenshuriken shouting, "I already told you, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

I stared in awe as the shuriken flew through the air, but then bit my lip as one of Pein's bodies stepped in to absorb the chakra. We continued to fight as Naruto argued with Pein about peace. We managed to take out most of the bodies, but still two remained: the main body and the one which absorbed chakra.

"Pein," I said in a low voice, "if you honestly think that this resorts to peace…understanding pain, then you're out of your mind. Trust me, I've experience plenty of pain in my life! None of that could possibly help me be a more peaceful person!"

"But you're also a monster with no place in this world," Pein spat back at me. I panted, glaring at him. My chakra was running low and Naruto was on his last shadow clone back at Mount Myoboku. If we didn't finish this quickly, it would be our end. Pein continued to speak, "you are a half-breed who should never have been born. Your meaning of existence has no purpose in this world. But I can give it a purpose. If you would just come with me, surrender your soul to bring life back to your family which dwells within my sealing statue, you could become the fuel which drives peace."

"Not a chance," I growled, baring my teeth, "and you're wrong. My purpose in life…is to protect my children! Hana, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke! All of them! They are my purpose in life and so help me I'm willing to die if it means I can save their lives!"

"Such a pest…" Pein spat. The absorbing body went to attack Naruto, but I blocked him. Pein in turn grasped hold of me tightly and absorbed what was left of my chakra. I gasped as my Bijuu Mode diminished, all of the energy draining out of me. I fell to my knees, and Pein went to absorb Naruto's chakra, but Naruto managed to absorb extra energy from nature, causing the body to turn into a stone toad.

However, it was then when Naruto's sage mode ran out.

And Pein took the opportunity to strike. He attacked Naruto swiftly, knocking him to the ground. He froze him into place by stabbing him with several chakra rods. I gasped and forced myself to stand, my body on fire. Pein simply glared back at me, and with no more energy left to spare, I was pulled towards him as he ran a rod into me before throwing me to the side. I collapsed on the ground, grimacing.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw Hinata trying to protect Naruto but failing as Pein brushed her away like it was nothing. Naruto begged Hinata to stop, but she refused, and kept fighting until he knocked her unconscious with one swift blow.

Naruto stared at Hinata's unmoving form, his eyes wide. I lifted my head up slightly and croaked, "Naruto…! You're okay…!"

Naruto couldn't hear me, and I could feel a massive amount of Dad's chakra leaking out of him. Oh no…this wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. It almost looked like an explosion as Dad tried to rip his way out of the seal. Naruto let out a roar, the Kyuubi's skeleton surrounding his red and black body as seven tails swirled behind him. Oh no…if the other two tails came out…!

"Naruto!" I called out weakly, forcing myself to stand. I gasped in pain as my body began to fail me. No…I had to keep fighting…I had to…!

_*Ari…*_ I heard Ita's voice whispering gently, _*Stop fighting, I've got you…*_

I slowed my breathing as I tried to relax. Slowly, I managed to stand back up. My body ached, but if felt as if Itachi's spirit was holding me up, carrying me. It was just as he had promised.

"I…tachi…" I choked out.

I thought back to the night after he had told me he was dying, the promise he had made, _"I will always be there for you, protecting you. I will carry you when you are no longer able to stand…"_

"Thank…you…" I said. Naruto and Pein took off in a destructive death match. I began to limp forward, following the two. I had to save Naruto…if I couldn't stop him from losing control then…then…!

"Ari!" I heard Sakura cry out. She came running towards me with Hana in her arms, "Oh my gosh, you need medical attention right away!"

"No!" I said, swiping her hand away, "take care of Hinata first. She's in worse shape!"

Sakura nodded and began administering medical ninjutsu on Hinata. Within several minutes, she woke up again. Hana hugged my legs the entire time, crying. I wanted to kneel down and comfort her, but if I made any sudden movements, I was afraid I would collapse. But I had to stay awake. I couldn't rest until I knew that everyone would be safe.

And then, after what felt like hours, Katsuyu gave us the news, "Naruto stopped the Nine Tails from emerging and he's defeated Pein. The last body was just destroyed."

Sakura jumped, a smile spreading across her face, "Really?"

Hinata began to weep, "Thank goodness…"

A smile spread across Hana's face as she began running around, "Yay! Uncle Naruto did it!"

I sighed in relief, that was it. It was finally over. I smiled to myself, but I felt a sudden jab of pain strike my body before my limps started to go numb. I couldn't stand any longer. Sakura looked up at me, panic washing over her, "Ari. Try to stay awake. Please."

"I can't…" I whispered, my vision blurring.

"Mommy…?" Hana asked, concern washing over her face.

I smiled as my knees buckled and I began to fall. You'll be alright now, Hana, I thought to myself, you're finally safe. "Hana…I…" I muttered, but I didn't have the strength to speak and all I could muster was, "Ita…"

As I collapsed, I heard Hana and Sakura scream before I collapsed into the same pair of arms. As I laid there on the ground, my vision blurred and changed from Sakura standing over me, trying desperately to keep me alive and a vision of Ita looking down on me, my head in his lap, as he stroked my face gently,comforting me.

_*I've got you,*_ he said gently, _*You can rest now…but don't give up just yet. It's not your time.*_

Sakura rolled me on my back and attempted to stabilize me. I slowly closed my eyes, losing consciousness before waking up in a medical tent finding myself standing at the brink of war.


	19. Chapter 18: Truth

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I've been super busy the past two days...and frankly, I haven't been feeling too great about myself so...bleh :P I apologize if this chapter isn't as great as I'd like it to be as well...like I said, I've been kind of bleh lately. Well, nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Kisame**

When Pein didn't return to the Akatsuki, Kisame had mixed feelings. On one hand, Ari and Hana had been through enough hardships and he had no idea how they would take it if Naruto was captured. On the other hand, Pein was still Kisame's friend…creepy as the guy was…

With Pein gone, Madara allowed everyone a week off to regroup as he did some final touches. Kisame took the time to go back to the house. Even though Ari had insisted she didn't need it, the Akatsuki figured he had better help her clean out some of Itachi's things. When he returned, however, he was surprised to find the front of the house looking as if someone took a sledge hammer to it.

"What the hell happened here?" Kisame asked to himself. As he looked around, he found several uprooted trees and debris which created a path leading straight for Konoha. "Oh shit, Pein!" Kisame groaned. Following the trail, the Akatsuki had to muster up all his strength to keep from falling on his butt in shock. Where the proud Village Hidden in the Leaves once stood was nothing more than a massive crater with some survival tents scattered around in the center of it.

His heart racing, Kisame snuck into the village, looking for his friends. It was late at night and all of the security power had been diverted to medical assistance, so getting inside was no difficult task. Navigating towards the crater turned out to be difficult, however, because all of the village had been blown to the perimeter of where the village once stood. Tripping over remains of houses, Kisame fell over a toy rabbit. "Damn this blasted-!" Kisame spat, but as he turned to see what he tripped over, he was surprised to find Hana's stuffed rabbit, Tim-Tim, "Oh no," Kisame groaned. If that kid were dead...

Tossing the boulders around looking for remains, Kisame found the picture fram Itachi had given Ari along with Itachi's Akatsuki cloak and headband along with Ari's camera. He must have been standing in Ari's apartment. Or what was left of it. To Kisame's surprise, what Kisame could find was fairly intact. Tim-Tim had a tear at the seam of its head and the camera lens was cracked, but that was the only damage he could find. Everything else Kisame found, like furniture, the rest of Hana's toys, and other less important belongings were completely destroyed. At least what was important to the two were either still intact or still at the house. And no bodies. Well that was good. At least now, Itachi wouldn't kick Kisame's ass in the afterlife!

"Samehada, show me where Ari is," Kisame asked his sword in a low voice. In return, Samehada came to life as if it were a dog. It made gurgling and hissing noises and the hilt pointed towards the tents. Having sparred with Ari in training on several occasions, Sharkskin had learned Ari's chakra signature. It took abnormally long for Sharkskin to pinpoint exactly where Ari was among the tents as he snuck around and ducked behind things to keep out of sight. "Come on, you lazy sword, why can't you find her?"

Sharkskin let out a whimper as if to say that her chakra signature was too weak for it to pick up. Beginning to worry, Kisame peaked his head through just about every tent, hoping no one saw him running around like an idiot, until he glanced in one and saw little Hana sitting on her knees next to Ari, who was lying on her back.

Stepping inside, Kisame whispered, "Hana."

Turning, a puffy faced Hana lit up, relieved to see him as she jumped on Kisame crying, "Uncle Dory! Thank goodness you're here!"

Kisame's jaw dropped when he got a better look at Ari. She was on her back, unconscious and covered in bandages and she had a breathing mask on. "What happened?" he asked.

Hana sniffled as she tried to explain, "Pein he…he wanted to take Uncle Naruto away, but Mommy wouldn't let him. So then…he tried to take me and Mommy, but Mommy protected me and she…she…" Hana couldn't finish as she began whimpering and rubbed her eyes.

Ari…what kind of idiot were you for trying to take Pein on alone? Sighing heavily, Kisame knelt down in front of Hana and pulled out Tim-Tim, holding the bunny out to her, "he got a little beat up and he needs a bath, but I found your favorite playmate."

"Tim-Tim!" Hana said, a smile returning to her face. She gently grasped the bunny, careful of its head and squeezed it gently.

Kisame then pulled out the cloak, headband, and picture, setting them down in a basket with what appeared to be the rest of the duo's salvaged belongings, "I also managed to save some of your dad's things. I know how important these are to you and I want you to have them. But make sure no one else sees these, okay?"

"I know, I know, and I will," Hana said nodding her head. She ran back over to Ari and sat down at her mother's side. Kisame frowned. He knew the whole situation was messed up from the beginning. The day Ari and Itachi first brought Hana home, he thought they had both gone insane. In fact, the day Itachi decided to propose to Ari, and then when she accepted his proposal, Kisame thought the couple was insane. A half-demon and a mass murderer. Yeah, that would go _great_! The Hokage and the rest of Konoha would just think that was a swell idea! But, Itachi was always a little stubborn and Ari was even worse. She promised to stay by his side until the very end. She promised him a flower even, and she fulfilled both those promises.

But did they really have to suffer that much for the sake of love? Did Itachi's family have to go through this much pain just for the sake of protecting the village? It didn't seem right. Not right at all. Kisame stayed and visited with Hana and helped get the girl to sleep. With Ari out of commission, someone had to take care of the kid. Hana had curled up at Ari's side, tucked into her arm, and the little girl slept with Tim-Tim in one hand, and her locket held tightly in the other.

Kisame was starting to doze off too, but then Samehada hit the Akatsuki hard upside the head, causing him to jump to alertness just in time to hide as an old man accompanied by ANBU Blac Ops entered the tent.

"What do you wish to do with them, Lord Danzo?" one ANBU asked the elder man. The left side of his face was covered in bandages, leaving him only able to see through his right eye. He walked with a cane and his arm was tucked into a makeshift sling in his robes.

"As the new Hokage, I will not tolerate such dangerous creatures running amuck in my village," Danzo spat, "Hiruzen and Minato should have just killed the girl when she first appeared. But now she's gotten too strong and she brought another filthy half-breed with her."

Kisame held his breath. This guy was the new Hokage? What happened to Tsunade? And what did this creep have against Ari? Didn't she just save Naruto and Hana?

Danzo sighed heavily and continued, "But, she is under strict medical surveillance. And she is considered a hero now. Not as great of a hero as Naruto is, thankfully, but because Naruto looks up to her, so does the rest of the village. If she were to die suddenly…who knows what would happen. I'll let her recover, but do not let her out of your sight. I'll give you the signal when to take her out."

"Yes sir," the ANBU said. Shortly after that, the three disappeared.

Having created a puddle just outside the tent to hide, Kisame pulled himself out of the puddle, enraged. How much worse could things get for this poor girl? Come on! She was his friend, why did she have to go through all of this crap?

Groaning, Kisame figured it was probably for that very reason that she had to suffer: she was a half-demon and she befriended on criminal, then married the other (unofficially). Ari had screwed herself over from the beginning.

But still, Kisame had to warn Ari of the impending danger. He hung around the village for a few days, waiting for Ari to wake up. He had to get her out of the village if she and Hana were going to live.

* * *

**Ari**

"_Man…where are they?" I groaned out loud. Ita and Kisame had been gone for days now on their mission. It was their first time away since I had moved into the house and I had no idea how long missions took. Frankly, I didn't even know criminals were still assigned missions… With Ita gone, leaving me all by my lonesome, I really had no idea what to do with myself. I couldn't really move anything to the house that was at my apartment unless it could fit in my travel pack, we were in the middle of nowhere, the one TV they did have was crap, and there was nothing in the pantries or the fridge for me to cook! _

_I spent the entirety of the first day of their absence cleaning the house and throwing things out that weren't needed anymore (they were men after all. Who knew how long Itachi and Kisame had been living here, but you could tell they had settled themselves in…along with everything else that once made this house an Uchiha stronghold). The day after that, I spent working on my scrapbook and shopping for food and furniture in nearby towns to make the place a little homier. But the third day, well, I thought they would have been back by then. I paced around all three floors of the former hideout, at a complete loss as to what to do with myself. On the main floor in what I had dictated the living room sat a bookshelf that was filled to the brim. Out of curiosity and sheer boredom, I went over there to peak around. _

_Ita and I had always been bookworms, and as I scanned the shelf, I realized that most of the books were ones that we had each read in the past. But I found a couple of foreign titles. I grabbed on and rested on the couch. Lying on my stomach, I was slowly able to immerse myself into the story's plot and forget about my growing anxiety. Of course, just as I was about to completely forget about my missing fiancé, a hand reached out and grabbed my ponytail, gently pulling my on to my back._

_Screaming, I scrambled to grab a kunai in my weapons pouch and drew it in front of my face just in time to find Itachi staring down at me, horribly confused, my head in his lap. _

"_I-Itachi!" I yelped, realizing it was him, "don't do that!"_

"_Do what? I was just coming to say hi," Ita smiled, still unsure of my reaction. I groaned and sat up, shooting him a glare as I put my kunai away._

"_You scared the shit out of me!" I snapped, "and if it had been a second later, I would've killed you."_

_A smile broke out on Itachi's face as he began to belly laugh, creating sounds that always managed to ease the tension in the room. He was so beautiful when he laughed. I tried to resist the urge to melt into Ita's arms as I crossed mine and forced myself to glare at him. He looked up at me and smiled as he said, "I'm sorry. I was just happy to see you is all. I thought I'd surprise you. But I guess you didn't know when we'd come home so I should have known better than to scare you."_

_Sighing heavily, I gave into Ita's silky voice and his gentle ways and said, "It's fine." I then leapt onto his lap, standing on his thighs as I curled myself into a ball, facing him. I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold my balance. I gave him a gentle kiss as I said, "so how was your mission?"_

_Itachi couldn't hold his smile back as he said, completely distracted, "You're so cute!"_

"_Huh?" I raised an eyebrow. I looked down and gave myself a look-over, "how am I cute? I haven't bathed at all today."_

_Itachi let out another belly-laugh as he said, "But still, I don't know. You're just so tiny and adorable!"_

_Confused, I managed to give Ita a small smile. Was there something I was missing? "I don't think I'm following…and I'm not that tiny anymore. I'm not too much shorter than you are!"_

"_I'm sorry," Ita apologized, unable to contain his smile, "I'm just so happy to have you on my lap is all, I can't stop looking at you. And Ari, I can rest my chin on your head. To me, you're short."_

_I giggled, a huge smile forming on my face, "you can't stop looking at me? Wow, if I look this good when I smell bad, I wonder what you'll think when I make an effort to look decent for a date!"_

_Itachi really started laughing at that one as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my curled-up body closer to his chest. He then leaned his head forward so our foreheads touched as he sighed, "I missed this…"_

_Unable to contain my happiness anymore, I let out a squeal and pulled him closer as I wrapped my legs around his waist. We held each other tightly, cuddling on the couch together. I hadn't realized just how much I had missed Itachi Uchiha until that moment, when we were both in each other's arms, our entire lives ahead of us to spend together. _

I slowly opened my eyes to find the top of a tent staring down at me. The past three years with Itachi had run together in my head and had seemed so realistic that for a moment, I had forgotten all about the hell I had suffered through in the past month. But as I sat up, pain surging through my body and discovered myself covered in bandages and attached to IV's with a battered up Hana curled up at my side, it took all of my will-power to avoid crying and not go back into my dream world.

"Thank goodness you're awake," a familiar voice said. I turned my head to see Kisame sitting at the corner of the tent. He avoided eye contact with me but reached over and grabbed Itachi's Akatsuki cloak and draped it over my shoulders. It wasn't until then that I realized that, other than the bandages and a thin camisole, I wasn't really wearing a top. I pulled my arms into the sleeves and wrapped myself tightly into the cloak, inhaling Itachi's scent. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine him sitting at my side, holding me close.

"Jaws, what are you doing here?" I asked, "and how did you get into Konoha even?"

"What Konoha?" Kisame retorted, "Pein blew the place to bits. And besides, don't worry about me right now. Worry about yourself."

"Wh-why?" I asked.

Kisame knelt down and looked me in the eyes, a grim expression on his face, "do you know an old man by the name of Danzo?"

I nodded my head, "yeah…he's in charge of the Leaf's underground. He's one of the advisors."

"Did you ever…do anything to piss him off?" Kisame asked, not sure how to phrase the question. I thought long and hard about that one. I had done a lot of things to piss him off, what with my surly attitude, defying some of the Hokage's orders, going to live with Itachi, adopting Hana, and calling him Eye-patch all the time but…that pissed pretty much everyone off and they got over it, so why did it matter?"

"How pissed off are we talking here?" I finally asked in response. Kisame groaned, face-palming.

"Oh god, Ari!" Kisame grimaced. He then sighed heavily and started over asking, "Look, have you ever done anything that would make him want to kill you or Hana?"

At that, the color drained from my face and my heart began to race. "Jaws…what are you trying to get at…?"

Kisame opened his mouth to answer, but was forced to retreat to a puddle just outside the tent and hid himself when we heard footsteps outside. As the tent flap began to open I scrambled to get Ita's cloak off of me and I threw it under my blanket, tucking it under my legs. My squirming shook Hana awake and she groaned as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Mommy!" Hana smiled brightly as she saw that I was awake. I smiled down at her and pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her hair just as Naruto and Kakashi barged into my tent.

"Ari!" Naruto cried out when he saw me, his face lighting up, "thank goodness you're okay!"

"Hey, Naruto," I said. I looked the boy over and found that he was only a fraction less beaten up than I was. The right side of his face was covered in bandages and his left arm was in a sling. He limped over to me before he clumsily knelt down.

"I'm so glad to see you awake, you've been out for two weeks! And we're in a lot of trouble right now," Naruto explained, his demeanor getting serious.

"What happened?" I asked.

Kakashi stepped in and explained, "We received a visit from several Cloud Shinobi. The Raikage has called a summit in hopes to stop the Akatsuki, and he wants Sasuke to be taken out immediately."

"What?" I asked in disbelief, panic striking me in the core, "What happened to Sasuke?"

"They're saying he kidnapped the Eight-Tails," Naruto said, "and that he joined the Akatsuki."

I leaned back slightly in disbelief. I glanced over at where Kisame was hiding, shooting him a glare. Sasuke did _what?_ "But he…" I began, holding my breath, "he…killed Itachi…"

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged, forlorn, "I don't know why he would do that…but…Ari, I have a question for you. It's something that Pein said…about you and Itachi…"

"Oh shit," I groaned, leaning my head back. Hana looked up at me confused and then looked back at Naruto. How in the hell was I supposed to explain that one?

Kakashi, thankfully, saved the day and he said, "We'll have time for questions later. We need to get going if you're going to find the Raikage."

"What are you guys planning?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kakashi turned to me and said, "The Raikage is meeting the other Kages in the Land of Iron. Tsunade is in a coma and Danzo has been named the Hokage in her place. However, since he is for taking Sasuke out as well, Naruto wants to speak with the Raikage and try to convince him otherwise. But we have to leave soon because Root members have been posted all over the place and aren't allowing Naruto, Hana, or you out of the village for the time being. I have a genjutsu on the ones currently assigned to you three for now. If you guys come with us, you can get out of here."

Sighing, I tried to roll onto my feet, but I felt as if I had been hit by a train. I just didn't have the strength yet to run around. "I'm sorry, Kakashi, but I can't even stand up, much less help you guys out with this. I'll leave this matter to you for now. I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Ari, are you sure?" Kakashi asked in a low voice as if he were trying to warn me of some other danger.

"Yeah, I just need more rest," I said. Sighing, Kakashi and Naruto left the tent. Right after that Kisame leapt out of the puddle and grasped my shoulders tightly as he shook me.

"You idiot! Why didn't you go with them?" Kisame growled at me.

"What am I supposed to do?" I snapped back at him.

Kisame groaned and lowered his voice as he said, "what part of 'Danzo is Hokage' did you not understand?"

I sighed heavily. The idea did scare me, Danzo _hated_ me and Hana. He always had. But this was Sasuke we were talking about. The kid might've had a loose screw in his head, but if anyone could help him come home, it was Naruto. This was my boy we were talking about, and if Itachi could trust Naruto to bring Sasuke home, then Naruto would bring Sasuke home.

I shook my head blankly and Kisame explained, "he came into your tent the other night. He is going to _kill you_. Both of you."

"What?" I shouted, hugging Hana tighter, "But why?"

"He sees you as a threat. He's always wanted you dead," Kisame said, "look, you have to get out of here!" Kisame helped me to my feet and threw me some extra clothes. I was in capris and a tank, but he tossed me my ANBU uniform and my swords, helping me into my armor. He then threw everything that we did have in the tent into a travel pack. "The rest of the stuff that you need is at the house. We'll stop there before you go."

"But where am I supposed to go?" I asked in disbelief, "We're half-breeds and this had been my home for years! I can't just…leave it! I haven't done anything wrong!"

"I don't care where you go, but you've got to get out of here," Kisame urged, "I can help you get out of the Land of Fire, but you're on your own from there. The Five Kage Summit is way up north in the Land of Iron. It's a neutral country that does not get involved with the shinobi world. I can imagine that you'd be safe there. You could start a new life."

"But I—" I started to say, just as a Root member walked in on us. I hadn't even heard him approach.

"Ariala Uzumaki," the man said in a monotonous voice, "you're under arrest."

"What?" I shrieked, "I've been unconscious for the past two weeks! What did I do?"

"Well, for starters, you're associating with him," the Root member pointed at Kisame.

"Sorry, you brat," Kisame spat at him, "but I've been sent to take these half-breeds into custody. The Akatsuki needs them."

"And that is exactly why you are under arrest," the Root member said, "Lord Danzo has ordered the annihilation of all threats to the village. Including half-bijuu."

The Root member started walking towards Hana who began to back away. She held Tim-Tim tightly in her arms as she started to whimper. I took a step in front of her, glaring at the Root member.

"Look, I don't mean to be any threat to this village," I said in a low voice, "I am a proud shinobi of Konoha. If anything, you guys should be glad I'm on your side. And Hana…she's a child!"

"None of that matters," the Root member says, "Lord Danzo has declared you a monster. And you shall parish!"

The man lunged towards me with his sword drawn. Panicking, I pulled out my twin swords and stabbed the man through the heart, killing him. He slumped forward into me, his weight almost pulling me to the ground. Kisame quickly pulled the body off me and threw him to the ground. I stood there in shock, covering my hands to my face, shaking.

"Oh my god…" I whimpered. Behind me, Hana was crying, her eyes closed as she hugged my leg tightly, "What…what did I just do?"

"You killed him, that's what," Kisame said with a straight face. No…I wasn't a criminal! I wasn't someone who would kill her own people! He was…he was after me, but he was still a proud shinobi of Konoha and I had probably fought alongside him on several occasions! Why would I do such a thing? "Ari, you are not a Leaf shinobi anymore. You're a fugitive whether you've done anything wrong or not. Itachi asked me to protect you two, and goddammit, that's just what I'm going to do. Now let's get out of here!"

Kisame scooped Hana up in his arms and grabbed me by the wrist. He led us out of the village and back to the house. As we approached the doorsteps, I froze in my tracks, causing Kisame to fall forward.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Jaws, I…I can't—" I stammered, but Kisame didn't give me time to finish. Despite the injuries and the concussion I had been dealt, Kisame punched me hard across the side of the face, knocking me to the ground.

"Uncle Dory! Stop! Why did you do that?" Hana screamed in a panic.

Setting Hana on the ground, Kisame said, "I'm sorry, Hana, but your mom is not thinking clearly!" he then grasped me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me close to his face, "I don't care if you're ready to face the facts or not, Ari! Itachi is dead and there is nothing you can do about it! I know it sucks, but you're still alive. Hana is still alive! It doesn't matter what kind of pain you're suffering, you still have a little girl who needs you. Who depends on you, so snap out of it and start acting like a mother again!"

I stared at Kisame with wide eyes for a long time. I let out a whimper and allowed a few tears to escape. Frowning, Kisame let me go as he stood back up.

"I'm sorry," he spat, "I don't know what else to do."

"No," I said in a low voice, "I'm sorry…" I then stood and forced myself to look at the house. The front had been badly damaged from Pein's attacks back in the village. Shaking, I took a step inside the house. Everything was as we had left it. On any normal day, it would be as if I was just coming home from a mission or from Konoha.

But I was on the run. I needed to clear the things I needed out of here fast. There was no time to clean. No time to cook dinner. Only time to run. I went up the stairs and Kisame took Hana to her room and helped her pack the things she needed, and when she was packed I would help give her a bath before we left. I stood outside the room of my bedroom for a long time. The door was closed as Ita and I had left it a mess after our last night together.

Holding my breath, I hastily turned the knob and stepped inside. I looked around. Everything was the same. The bed sheets were a mess, our pajamas were strewn about all over the floor, the bathroom still needed to be cleaned…

Like a robot, I took my backpack off and unzipped it, trying to decide what I would need. I could fit most of my clothes in there along with toiletries. If I was going to the Land of Iron, I would need some winter clothes. I pulled out my winter cloak and a light blue dress with long sleeves and a turtle-neck collar which I would wear with black leggings and white leg warmers when I went to cold countries on missions. As I rummaged through other personal belongings, I tripped over the scrapbook.

"Dammit!" I cursed glancing over at it. I had left it at the house when I had left because I wasn't sure I wanted to see that thing again. It was full of too many memories at this point. They were happy memories, but they only gave me more pain. I looked down at the book, eyeing the page it had been opened to with my foot. I held it up, flipping through pages from Saya and me at gymnastics meets to Naruto's first day of school. I stopped at a page full of Itachi and me. It started with the picture of Sasuke sleeping on Ita's chest and traveled to a picture of Ita and I in our ANBU uniforms for the first time. I flipped through more pages and found Ita and I on his birthday. We were sent out on a mission together during it so I took him to his favorite tea shop as a gift.

And then, finally, I found the engagement picture of Ita and I. I stared down at my left hand and gazed at the diamond on my finger for a long time before I held the scrapbook to my chest and started crying.

"Ita…!" I whaled, curling into a ball as I wept silently. I leaned against the bed, missing Itachi, missing our lives together, missing what could have been, missing what never would be.

Kisame eventually came into my room and said, "Hana's all packed up now, if you want to give her a—Ari?" Kisame walked over to see my pitiful depressed form weeping over a scrapbook. He knelt down next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder, "hey, you're going to be alright."

I looked up at him, tears streaming down my face as I whimpered, "How do you know? Everything that I know and love is either gone or about to be taken away from me!"

"That's not true," Kisame shook his head, "you still have Hana, and I won't let her get separated from you. And you won't let her get separated from you. I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but you will be okay, I can promise you that much. As long as you wear that necklace and that ring, Itachi's always going to be at your side. He promised you that, didn't he? And Itachi's never broken a promise before as far as I'm concerned."

I sighed, shaking as I wiped my eyes. "Thank you, Jaws…" I whimpered.

Kisame chuckled, "And you can't be that miserable, you still haven't called me by my real name yet!"

At that, I laughed slightly, "It's because I made a bet with you. I don't lose bets."

Kisame crossed his arms and grinned, "neither do I."

After that, I got Hana into the bathtub and washed her up. As it was getting late, I went ahead and tucked her into bed. We would leave early in the morning.

"I'll get you up early, and we need to leave as soon as possible, okay?" I said gently.

"But why do we have to go?" Hana asked.

"It's not safe for us anymore. People are afraid of Grandpa and Auntie because they don't understand what they are. And because of that, some people are afraid of even you and me, and they don't know how to treat us. It's scary in the village right now and there are some who want to hurt us because they are so scared," I tried to explain, stroking her hair gently.

Hana frowned and hugged Tim-Tim tightly, but was careful not to hurt the rabbit's head as I had just fixed the seam in its neck. She asked, "but we aren't scary people. Why can't we just tell them that?"

"Well, sometimes it's not that easy," I said, "sometimes people just get so scared for no good reason that you can't tell them otherwise. That's kind of what's happened with us. Because Pein tried to take us and he destroyed the village, some people are just so scared of us for that reason alone and we can't convince them that we're not bad people. I don't want to do this either, but if we're going to stay safe, we have to move. Daddy wants nothing more than our safety, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Hana sighed heavily. She then closed her eyes and patted her forehead gently, "I wish he were here to tuck me in with you…he's supposed to poke my head…"

"I know," I said, fighting the tears. I then smiled and said, "you know he used to poke Uncle Sasuke's forehead too?"

Hana looked up with a small smile on her face, "really?"

"Yeah," I said, "all the time."

"I bet Uncle Sasuke misses Daddy too," Hana said suddenly, "that's why he won't come back home. He's just scared like those other people are and he can't be told otherwise."

"What?" I asked. I shook my head, "well, I can't say if that's true or not, but maybe. Well, get some rest, goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Mommy," Hana said as I kissed her on the forehead and tucked her in tightly. Hana gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and then she pulled out her locket, kissing it and said in a sad little voice, "Goodnight Daddy…"

I couldn't sleep that night. It didn't feel right lying in bed without Itachi next to me. I tossed and turned before finally giving up and going downstairs to sip some tea and wait for when it was time to wake Hana up. I was exhausted the next day, but I didn't care. All that was on my mind as I got dressed and bundled Hana up in her pink coat and scarf was getting her to safety.

"Stay off the main roads," Kisame explained, "I was looking around, and Wanted Posters are starting to go up for you, Hana, Naruto, and Sasuke. The Land of Iron is a neutral country and will gladly accept you two as refugees as they are not affiliated with the shinobi world. But while the Summit is being held, I would lie low and use a fake identity until it's all over with, just in case someone were to see you."

"Got it," I said, nodding my head. I then gave Kisame a hug before we departed and said, "Thank you, Jaws. You're truly a good friend."

Kisame chuckled as Hana gave him a hug and he said, "Don't mention it. And take care."

With that, we left. It took several days to get to the snow covered land of samurai. We didn't check into any hotels or stop at any regular shelter for food. We couldn't as I realized too late that my bank account was connected to Konoha's. As soon as I used it, they would know where I was. I had plenty of money in my wallet that I had saved up from recent missions, and Ita had kept several hundred dollars in a safe in case of an emergency which I took, but I wouldn't spend any of it until I had gotten Hana and I settled in the Land of Iron, away from the shinobi world.

We took shelter in caves or abandoned houses, however we could find it. I would build fires at night and tuck Hana in underneath Ita's cloak, and the two of us would sleep next to each other under his protection.

"I miss Daddy," Hana said one night, "I wish he never had to leave Konoha…he wouldn't have died if he hadn't…"

"I know, sweetie," I whispered back to her. Her head rested on my lap as I looked up at the stars. Hana closed her eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep. I stayed awake that night, looking up at the night sky, wondering if what Hana had said was true. Would he have lived? Probably. He would have at least had much better healthcare. He could have at least stayed with us longer…

"Oh, Itachi," I said to myself, a tear escaping my eye, "I wish you hadn't had to leave us…"

* * *

**Naruto**

The Raikage never budged on his resolve to destroy Sasuke. Broken hearted, Naruto, Kakashi, and Yamato went to a hotel to rest before they headed back home to the village. He couldn't sleep that night either, his mind continually drifted to Sasuke. Itachi was dead, so why wouldn't Sasuke come home? That was his goal, wasn't it? And what Pein had said about Ari…Naruto was inclined to brush that off as a jab towards an old relationship, but what the Kyuubi had once commented about Ari's relationship to it turned out to be true as well…what else did Naruto not know about Ari?

But then the masked man showed up, Madara Uchiha. He came claiming to shed light on the story of Sasuke Uchiha, but the news he had to give was far greater than what anyone in the room had anticipated. An Uchiha coup? A mission to destroy the Uchiha given by the Hokage? Itachi working as a double agent? And what Madara had mentioned about a lover…

"_I can't imagine who it was harder on when Itachi died, Sasuke or Itachi's lover who has spent her whole life drowning in secrets…"_

But as quickly as he came, Madara disappeared, leaving Kakashi, Yamato, and Naruto all in the snow alone. And that's when Sakura and the rest of Konoha 11 showed up. Sakura started begging Naruto to give up on Sasuke, that she liked Naruto now, but Naruto knew better. Sakura was hiding something, but what? This news was getting a little too hard to take…

And that's when he saw them.

That wild brown hair and that slender form, holding the hands of a child.

"Ari!" Naruto called out, catching the woman's attention.

At first, Ari panicked and began to run away from Naruto, but Kakashi rushed forward and stopped her. What was even stranger was when she pulled out a kunai as if she were planning to attack when Kakashi drew too close.

"What are you doing here? I thought you needed rest from your wounds," Kakashi asked, confused.

"I was," Ari said, skeptical, "but things got too dangerous for Hana and I back in Konoha so we had no choice but to leave."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

Relaxing slightly, Ari lowered her guard enough to put the kunai away and explain, "Danzo ordered for the half-breeds to be exterminated, simply put. The village isn't safe for us anymore."

His heart racing, the world began to spin as Naruto asked, "What?"

"Naruto, you know Hana and I are not entirely human," Ari sighed, "Danzo has hated me from the beginning. As the Hokage, he sees us as a threat because of our ancestry."

"But that's…that's not fair!" Naruto cried out, "Is that the only reason he wants you guys dead?"

Ari shrugged, "I don't know. I would assume so. Naruto, don't worry about me. You just protect yourself. You're the last remaining jinchuuriki and I don't know what I would do if I lost you too."

"Lost me too, huh?" Naruto asked in a low voice, "Why, because you've lost everything else? At least with…Itachi?"

"Naruto!" Kakashi scolded in a harsh voice. Ari's eyes widened and her expression hardened as the emotional barriers around the woman drew up.

"I have to know!" Naruto snapped back. He then forced back the tears and looked Ari in the eyes asking, "Ari, I know you and Itachi were old teammates, and I know you guys dated before he left the village. But…Pein mentioned a few things when we fought him…about you being Itachi's lover. And we just had a run-in with Madara and he said some disturbing things about Itachi…he said Itachi was only acting on orders when he killed his clan. I have to know…is all of that true?"

Ari closed her eyes and pursed her lips together as Naruto anticipated an answer. Part of him hoped none of that was true, he had hoped that everything he had known wasn't a blatant lie.

But nonetheless, Ari pulled the glove on her left hand off and showed Naruto the engagement ring on her finger. It matched the gold necklace she always wore perfectly. "Does this answer your question?" she asked in a dark voice.

Naruto's stomach dropped as he gazed at the ring. "But why…?" was all he could muster.

Ari sighed heavily, her lip quivering as she explained, "There are a lot of things people are not meant to find out in this world for their own safety. For many of us, one of those things includes the truth about Itachi Uchiha. Ita was my best friend, we were the Ultimate Tag Team. I knew him better than he probably even knew himself, so when he fled the village on that night, I just knew there was something else going on. He loved his family too much, his village too much, to just betray everyone and throw his life away for no reason. And when he returned to Konoha three years ago, I decided to take the truth into my own hands. I loved him, no matter what had happened. Even if that was all him, I probably still would have loved him…and he even proposed during the mission at Utsukuma Inn, can you believe it? I thought we had our whole lives ahead of us, he was such a good father for Hana…she's his flower…but he had a heart condition, and he wanted to die at Sasuke's hands…for all of us."

Naruto stared blankly at Ari, unable to comprehend what she was telling him. That couldn't be true…but…Ari…

"Don't give me that look, Naruto," Ari said as she forced a smile, "It's alright, really."

"But…when Pervy-Sage Died…that was right after Itachi…" Naruto said in a trance. Ari had been the one comforting both him and Hana that night, but what kind of pain had Ari been going through at that same time?

As the day wore on, more news was received: Danzo had tried to pull the Summit under the rug and gain control of power and had been removed as the Hokage. Kakashi was asked to stand in as the new Hokage in Danzo's place. The Eight Tails was still alive somewhere, but was either missing or hiding. And worst of all, Sasuke had tried to assassinate all five kages.

And if things couldn't get any worse, Sai came back to inform Naruto that Sakura and the others had resolved to take Sasuke out with their own hands.

He couldn't handle it anymore, this was too much. First Sasuke, then Ari, and now all of this? His breath quickened, unable to calm down as he began to hyperventilate. The next thing Naruto knew, he was collapsing in the snow unconscious.

* * *

**Ari**

That was definitely one of the shortest exiles for a shinobi in history. As news of Danzo's betrayal spread to us, Kakashi stepped in as the Hokage, assuring me that Hana and I would once again be safe in Konoha.

But if we were safe in the rest of the world was the real question. Madara was growing angrier and more impatient by the day. Upon Sasuke's failure to destroy the kage, and his subsequent rescue, Madara spoke with the kages and then declared war on the shinobi world in order to obtain the remaining two jinchuuriki. Nothing was mentioned, but I had a feeling that Hana and I had been made targets as well.

"The first thing we must do is return to the village and inform them on what has happened," Kakashi stated, gripping his head from the stress-induced headache. "But the next question I have is how they plan to protect Naruto. He won't just sit idly by while the rest of the world shields him."

I sighed heavily. Kakashi had been on one too many missions with Itachi and I in his ANBU days. Kakashi was starting to sound just like Ita. And he needed to stop that. "Kakashi, calm down. We'll just take it one step at a time," I said.

A few moments later, Naruto woke up in a panic, insisting that he had to stop the others from killing Sasuke. The news broke my heart, knowing that both of my Uchiha boys would be gone, but if Sasuke was as far gone as he seemed then…I didn't know what to do.

I finally encouraged Naruto to go back to sleep and that we would move in the morning, but after a half-hour, I took notice that for some reason, I couldn't sense Dad in the room anymore even though Naruto was still lying on the ground.

Freaking shadow clones!

I bolted out of the hotel with Kakashi on my heals as we chased after Naruto, leaving Yamato to watch Hana. When we finally found him, he was standing in a river with Sakura in his arms and Sasuke facing him. Sasuke had formed a partial Susanoo and was screaming at Naruto.

"You don't know anything about me!" Sasuke cried out, a demented look in his eyes.

"Sasuke!" I scolded as I landed behind Naruto. I took a step forward, glaring at the boy. He had grown up and was turning into quite a handsome man, but he looked absolutely crazed with the wild expressions he was giving us with his newly awakened Mongekyo. And by the way he was squinting, I could tell he hadn't transplanted Itachi's eyes yet.

"Oh great, now you're here too? Well guess what, Ari? I don't need your coddling! I killed the elder named Danzo, he confirmed the truth about my brother to me! The truth about you! I know everything, and I will not be told what to do by some half-breed!" Sasuke screamed before I could get anything out.

Glaring at him, I took a step forward, "just how much do you know about me then, Sasuke? How much do you really know about your brother? To take comfort in the idea of throwing your life away and destroying the village, the kages, that is?"

Sasuke jumped at my remark, his insane smirk fading into the expression of a hurt and confused little boy that I once knew so well, "Just what do you mean by that? And how dare you accuse me of not knowing Itachi when you don't even know him yourself! He gave up everything for the village and you just sat by, treating him like a traitor! All of you!"

"I sat by?" I snapped at Sasuke, "I treated him like a traitor? Which one of us has Itachi's blood on his hands?"

"He chose to die by my hands," Sasuke said in a low voice, "but you! You were closest to him before he annihilated the Uchiha! You were in the ANBU! But you did nothing to help him! You just left him all alone while I knew nothing! I was a child!"

"Sasuke," I said again, "I don't think you know the whole truth about me…"

"What?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anymore, I took my glove off once again and held up my left hand. Squinting his eyes, unable to see, I took a few steps forward, showing off my ring.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked Sasuke.

"It's…a ring…" Sasuke said in awe.

"On my left hand," I said, "and what does that mean?"

"I—"

"_What does that mean?_" I growled, my anger boiling over, "You know damn well who gave this to me so I ask you, what does this mean? You're right Sasuke, you were just a child when everything happened. You didn't understand. But I wasn't, I had to live through Itachi's pain too, you know! The secrets he kept, the lies he told…and all to protect us! Did you even know he had the same heart disease that your uncle died from? Did you? I can guarantee not since I didn't find out until months before he died! And he died in my arms at that! I can understand the anger and frustration and loneliness you are feeling right now after being kept in the dark for so long, but you need to understand that Itachi did all that to protect _you!_ And you need to get it in your head that I would never _ever_ sit idly by while your brother suffered in agony, so don't you dare accuse me of doing so, _ever again!_"

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke screamed back at me, "You don't know anything! I don't care what your relationship was to Itachi in the end, he suffered so your sorry ass could just laugh and scorn his name living in that village without a care in the world! The Uchiha name has been poisoned by you Leaf Ninja! And I will destroy every last one of you. I will severe every single tie the Uchiha has to the shinobi world, by killing every single one of you off. That's how I will revive my clan!"

"You're out of your mind…" I breathed. I suddenly felt as if a huge weight had come crashing down on my shoulders. All Itachi wanted to do was free Sasuke from his hatred…but instead it all led to this…what was even worse, I feared, was I had a feeling that the only person who could even talk even the slightest amount of sense into Sasuke was Itachi. Someone please tell me why he had to die again?

The next series of events happened in what felt like an instant. Naruto and Sasuke clashed with their Rasengan and Chidori respectively. The backlash from the two attacks blue the boys apart in separate directions. Kakashi managed to catch Naruto while White Zetsu cushioned Sasuke's fall on the other side.

Naruto stood up with a serious expression on his face, "Now I'm certain," he said in a low voice.

"Naruto?" I asked Blondie, confused. Naruto ignored me and stared at Sasuke intently. Sasuke panted heavily, barely able to stand after his clash with Danzo and now having to face off against Naruto. But then, in the midst of swirling air, Madara appeared. I glared at the masked man, still not entirely sure that this was the same Madara, but I still kept my guard up.

Madara turned to Sasuke and said, "I thought I told you to come back and rest." Madara then finally noticed our presence and said, "The NineTails…and his half-breed daughter. When we do fight them, it'll be in a more subtle place. For now, we retreat."

Naruto then took a step forward and said, "There's something I need to say to Sasuke first."

His gesture took both sides by surprise. Madara knelt down but Sasuke and grasped him by the arm urging him to go, "Come on, Sasuke—"

"Wait," Sasuke cut the masked man off and turned his attention to Naruto. My eyes widened. The old Sasuke was still in there somewhere, I could feel it in that moment. Naruto had brought it out of him, which meant there was a chance that Sasuke could be saved afterall.

"Do you remember what you told me back at the Valley of the End? About Ninja of top-class?" Naruto asked. Sasuke remained silent, thinking back to a memory that only the two boys shared. Naruto continued, "one direct clash later, I understand a lot more. We've become top-class shinobi, both of us. So tell me, did you see what was in my heart? What I really feel? Did you see what'll happen when we fight again? We're both gonna die."

Naruto's words sat heavy on my heart as I stared at the two. There was no way that could happen. It couldn't. But I had never seen Naruto look so serious in my life. He must've felt something, and by the knowing expression on Sasuke's face, they both must have experienced that same feeling. Naruto continued to speak with Sasuke, assuring him that he would bear whatever burden stood on Sasuke's shoulders and that he would stay his friend until the very end. Unable to understand Naruto's feelings, Sasuke ran away with Madara, leaving Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and I alone with the brink of war and our lost friend hanging over our shoulders.


	20. Chapter 19: I'm Not a Traitor

I feel like I just pulled a Kishimoto Troll and gave you all a crap-ton of flashbacks...which I did. But hey! It's character developement! Also, I apologize for my less frequent updates this past week (school. BLEGH! and I had writer's block and instead published a fluffy valentine's day oneshot starring Hana on Friday so if you want to see Itachi making a complete idiot out of himself, you should totally read that because I was sleep deprived and laughing my head off during most of it XD) Anyway, hope you like my flashbacks!

ENJOI

* * *

**Hana**

_Daddy just came home from a mission and was playing hide-and-seek with her. Hana wandered around the backyard searching behind every tree and under every rock. She even went into the house a few times, but Daddy was nowhere to be found._

_He didn't leave her, did he? _

_She hadn't been living with Mommy or Daddy very long, and she was still so scared that one day, she'd wake up and find one or both of them gone forever. _

"_Daddy…?" Hana whimpered, her nerves getting the best of her, "Where are you?"_

"_I'm right here, sweetie!" she heard his comforting voice call out to her. Jumping, she looked all around, be he was nowhere. "Look up," he said. _

_Doing as she was told, Hana was surprised to find Daddy hanging from the tree branch above her. Suddenly, she felt silly, Daddy would never leave her! He was right there the whole time!_

"_I found you!" she called out, relieved to know where her Daddy was, "But how are you doing that?"_

"_Doing what?" Daddy asked. Hana pointed to his feet, which were sticking to the bottom of the branch like glue. "Oh, you mean this? Well, I'm using my chakra to hold me up."_

"_That's so cool! Can you show me how, Daddy?" Hana asked, jumping up and down. Daddy chuckled as he leapt off the tree and flipped over so he landed on the ground feet first. He showed Hana how to release her chakra in just her hands. She got the hang of that fairly quickly for a child her age. Then he showed her how to do the same thing with her feet. That was a little harder. It was almost dinner time, and Daddy still wasn't comfortable with her dangling from the tree just yet. _

"_How about we go inside, we can try again some other time, okay?" Dad offered, poking Hana's forehead lightly._

_Determined to master the skill, Hana crossed her arms and pouted, "No, Daddy! I want to at least try it today! Just hold me up!"_

_Sighing, Daddy agreed, "alright. I keep my hand on your back. Now, focus your chakra to your feet and walk up the tree like you are walking on ground."_

_Hana began to do as she was told and found it fairly easy to walk up the tree. However, as her body began to tilt upside-down, a terrifying but vague memory swallowed her thoughts. It was raining and someone was holding her upside down by the ankle, shaking her. She didn't know when that memory was or where it came from, but it caused the little girl to scream and let go of the tree. Daddy yelped as she fell and caught her in his arms as Hana buried her face into his chest and started crying. _

"_Hana!" Daddy cried, "What's wrong?"_

_Hearing the commotion, Mommy ran out into the backyard in a panic, "Ita! What's wrong? What happened?"_

"_I don't know," Daddy admitted, "she wanted to learn how to walk up the tree and she was doing just fine but she got scared and let go suddenly."_

"_Is she hurt?" Mom asked, sounding a little angry with Daddy. Daddy loosened his grip around Hana slightly so Mommy could examine her, but Hana was too scared and too embarrassed to show her face, "Sweetie, let me look at you. Are you hurt?"_

"_No," Hana whimpered, looking up at Mommy as her lip quivered. _

_Mommy sighed in relief and said, "Ita, maybe you guys shouldn't try that again."_

"_No!" Hana protested, forgetting all about her scare, "I was doing good! I can do it!"_

_Both Mommy and Daddy jumped at the little girl's sudden determination and exchanged nervous glances. Mommy held her breath and took a step back as Daddy set Hana down, positioning his hands on her back as she tried again. But sure enough, as soon as she started to go upside down, that same memory flashed in her mind._

"_LET ME GO!" Hana shrieked as she released her chakra, crying. Daddy held her tightly, trying to calm her down._

"_I think we're done," Daddy said, stroking her hair, his voice shaky._

_Mommy, however, had an idea, "Hold on, Hana, what's scaring you? Are you afraid of heights."_

_Hana shook her head, "I don't wanna be upside down…" she whimpered, "they'll hurt me…"_

"_Who will hurt you?" Mommy asked. _

_Hana shrugged. Even she didn't know. Fear struck Daddy's soft dark eyes as he said to Mommy, "does this have to do with her time in the Rain Village?"_

_Mommy nodded and said, "I think so," but then she redirected the subject and said, "Hana, do you know that I used to be a gymnast?"_

"_A what?" Hana asked, wiping her eyes, "what's a gymnast?"_

"_Well, you know those little girls in leotards that danced and did flips like acrobats that we saw on TV the other night?" Mommy asked._

_Hana nodded her head, a smile growing on her face, "Yeah! That was so cool! I wanna do that too!"_

_Mommy smiled and said, "well those are gymnasts. Their sport is called gymnastics. I used to do that when I was younger, and I could teach you if you wanted."_

"_Please!" Hana cheered, bouncing in Daddy's arms._

"_But," Mommy said, "you have to be able to go upside down, first."_

_At that, Hana's smile fell and she snuggled into Daddy's chest. "But…they'll hurt me…" she said softly._

"_No they won't," Mommy said gently, "Daddy and I won't let anyone hurt you. And we're going to prove it to you right now."_

"_Ari," Daddy warned in a stern voice, "I think she's had enough for one day. This isn't a good idea."_

_Mommy sighed and patted Daddy on the shoulder, "Ita, I think you've had enough for one day, but this isn't about you. My old gymnastics coach used to tell me that the longer you prolong conquering your fears, the more your fears will conquer you. Just go up into that tree and hold her while you hang upside down. Show her that there is nothing to be scared of."_

"_But Ari—"_

"_It'll be fine! Just try it," Mommy said. Hana didn't know what they were talking about, but she rested her head on Daddy's chest, listening to his heartbeat. Daddy was so soft and warm…she felt safe in his arms. _

"_Hana, do you trust me?" Daddy asked suddenly. Hana looked up at Daddy and nodded her head._

"_Of course I trust you," Hana answered. _

"_So if I tell you to hold on to me and to not let go, you will listen?" Daddy asked. Again, Hana nodded her head. Daddy gave Mommy a nervous glance and sighed before he said, "alright, this might scare you a bit, but remember that I am holding on to you and I will not let you get hurt, alright?"_

"_O-okay," Hana stammered, a little confused. Daddy leapt back up to the tree branch and stood up. Hana looked at Daddy, still not sure what he was doing, but then he slid off the branch, catching the bottom of it with his feet as he dangled upside down with Hana screaming and crying. _

"_You're okay, Hana!" Mommy assured. She was tall enough that her head met Daddy's as he hung from the tree, she reached up and gently placed her hand on Hana's back, but that surprised the girl and only scared her more._

"_Ari, this is a bad idea!" Daddy scolded, beginning to panic himself. Hana cried as she held his Akatsuki robe tightly._

"_Don't yell at me yet," Mommy said, "talk to her."_

"_Hana," Daddy said gently, "Hana calm down."_

_Hana stifled her cries to small whimpers, but she shook in Daddy's arms. Mommy patted Hana's back, trying to comfort her. Slowly, Hana opened her eyes and looked up to see Mommy and Daddy both looking up at her, both smiling warmly. _

_Daddy kissed the top of Hana's head as he held her tightly and said, "I won't let anything bad happen to you. See? This isn't so bad, now is it?"_

_Hana shook her head and said, "No." As they swung gently, a small smile crept up on Hana's face. Actually, this was kind of fun! Hana nuzzled her face back into Daddy's chest as she let out a soft giggle. Mommy chuckled in response and she too leapt up on the tree until all three were hanging upside down._

"_You're doing great, Hana!" Mommy cheered, kissing Hana's cheek._

_Hana in response giggled and then looked back at Daddy who was still staring at her with a soft smile. "Hana," he said, "I won't let you get hurt. And I'm always going to be here for you. I'm not leaving your side, do you understand?"_

_Hana nodded, a smile on her face._

The little girl woke up from her dream as the sun danced on her eyelids. Sitting up in the strange room, getting used to her surroundings, Hana remembered that she and Mommy were on an island vacation with Uncle Naruto, Captain Yamato, and some Cloud Ninja while Uncle Naruto took notes on the island's habitat…whatever that meant.

Hana leapt out of bed, it was still early for her to be getting up, but she was too excited about the revelation her dream gave her and she had to tell Mommy what she just learned. Mommy would be so happy to hear the news!

She found Mommy sitting in the lobby on the main floor of the small hotel with Naruto and Yamato. She ran up to Mommy and leapt into her lap, causing the elder half-bijuu to yelp in surprise.

"Hana! You're up early!" Mommy noted, slightly confused.

"Daddy's coming back!" Hana announced as loudly and as happily as she could.

* * *

**Ari**

I stared at the little girl in disbelief. Oh no…this wasn't some kind of coping mechanism for children that caused them to regress after a loss, was it?

"I'm sorry sweetie, but what did you say?" I asked, still a little confused.

Hana sat up straighter in my lap and adjusted her nightgown as she announced with a completely straight face, "Daddy is coming back."

My chest feeling hollow, I glanced nervously over at a pale-faced Naruto who avoided my gaze. This news seemed to be just as disturbing to him as it was to me, and I wasn't sure if that were a good or bad thing.

"Hana, sweetheart," I tried to explain as I sat Hana on the ground, kneeling down in front of her, "Daddy died."

"So?" Hana shrugged, "he said he would never leave us. That he'd always stay by our side."

"That's right," I said, "we may not be able to see him but—"

"But we _will_ be able to see him!" Hana protested, "Not right now, of course, because he's dead. But he's coming back!"

I could feel the color drain out of my face. Oh no, this couldn't be good. I thought Hana was healing, not trapped in denial! Trying to find the words that simply were not there, Yamato spoke up suddenly, diverting my attention, "Actually, Ari. There is something I would like to talk to you about."

"O-okay," I croaked. I then managed a smile and stroked Hana's hair, "can you go play with Uncle Naruto for a bit? I'll be back in a few minutes to help you get dressed."

"Okay!" Hana said with a big smile on her face. I sighed heavily, hoping she would eventually forget about our conversation as I kissed her forehead. I stepped out of the room with Yamato. As we did, we passed Killer Bee who was dancing his way to food.

"Hi Bee," I said, "Naruto will be ready in a few minutes. He just has to watch Hana for a bit."

"Swag!" Bee responded to a beat, "I'ma get some good grub before I kick him to da mud so he can be the new jinchuuriki stud!"

Within him, the Eight-Tales, Uncle Gyuuki groaned, "that made absolutely no sense…but Ariala, is everything alright?"

"Yeah," I breathed within the connection between Gyuuki, Bee, and I, "just a lot on my mind is all."

"I can see that," Uncle G noted, "does this have to do with your father by chance?"

"No," I answered, "surprisingly, it's not about Dad. To be honest, I've been trying not to think about him at all."

"And I can understand that," Uncle G sighed, "You know, he really isn't happy with you right now…at all…"

I rolled my eyes, "Well, I kind of figured that much! I mean, he hasn't talked to me in years and I'm around Naruto all the time!" I held my head, trying to suppress and incoming migraine. It wasn't until I met Killer Bee that I realized I could still communicate with the Tailed Beasts even though they were sealed inside jinchuuriki. Uncle G wasted no time trying to reach out to me, surprised to find that I was still alive. And shocked to discover Hana. But the recent discussions with Uncle G only aroused my own suspicions as to just how pissed off my dad was with me for not freeing him. I tried reaching out to him, but all I got was a massive surge of vengeful chakra shot back at me, and as a result Naruto came down with serious stomach pains and several hours of diarrhea. Thanks Dad, I love you too!

"Just be careful," Uncle G warned, "I have no idea what will happen once Naruto tries to take control of the Kyuubi. It could end terribly."

"Right," I nodded, "I'll keep my guard up."

The conversation occurred within Killer Bee, and it only took a split second in the real world. I continued walking alongside Yamato as I finished talking with my uncle. I then walked up to the floor of the hotel where us Leaf Ninja were staying and into Yamato's room when the ANBU finally stopped and said, "I received intel from Anko's team this morning."

"Oh?" I asked, "has the war begun?"

"No, the Akatsuki are still making preparations," Yamato said, "but Kabuto has joined forces with Madara. And several Akatsuki members were spotted moving around the hideout.

"What?" I asked in disbelief. Afraid of where this was going, I gripped the nightstand next to me, bracing myself for what Yamato could say, "but…all that's left of the Akatsuki are Zetsu and Madara…"

"Well, according to Anko's report, Kabuto has stolen Orochimaru's cells and fused them with his body. He's building an army with the Edo Tensei," Yamato explained.

My knees began to buckle. Please tell me Hana wasn't right, _please tell me Hana wasn't right!_

"Ari, the Akatsuki members that Anko saw were all ones who have already deceased…including Itachi Uchiha."

And there went my sense of balance! The room began to spin so violently, I thought I would hurl. Slowly kneeling down, I sat on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest.

"Yamato, you can't be serious," I heaved. Yamato knelt down beside me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Ari," he said, "I know this is hard to hear, but this was also a preliminary report. We don't know what's really out there. And our job is to keep Naruto on this island no matter what, do you understand?"

I breathed heavily, trying to maintain my composure as I took his hand and stood up shakily, "Alright, fine. Just…don't tell Hana that she was right. It might make things worse."

* * *

**Itachi**

He awoke to the sound of a door being kicked down. When he opened his eyes he was surprised to find that 1) he could see clearly, 2) he was _alive_, and 3) that he was standing next to the beholder of Pein's bodies, Nagato.

"Where am I?" Itachi asked, looking around. Something didn't feel right, though. He was sure he had died. He had collapsed in front of Sasuke when his heart gave out…and he was in Ari's arms—

Ari…

"If I were to guess," Nagato stated, interrupting Itachi's thoughts, "I'd say Madara has teamed up with someone who can use the Edo Tensei and that they've brought us back to life to start a war…that was Madara's goal after all: to destroy the shinobi world in order to cast the ultimate genjutsu using the Juubi and creating a new world full of peace."

Itachi grimaced. How did war bring peace? And did this mean that Naruto had been captured after all? And if he was captured…what about…what about Ari and Hana?

Trying to fight the panic rising within him, Itachi slung Nagato's arm around his shoulders to help the man walk. His feet felt numbed and they moved on their own as if someone were controlling him. His skin felt like paper, as if his body had been sculpted around something else. He didn't feel alive, but he knew he wasn't dead. He also knew that he had died, but he couldn't recall anything more than flashes of light from his time in the afterlife.

What disturbed him, however, were that the only flashes he could recall were of Hana's puffy-red face and screams and Ari's unconscious and bloodied body. They…couldn't have died too…could they?

"Itachi," Nagato said suddenly, "there is something I have to tell you…about Ari and the little girl…"

"Yes?" Itachi asked, feeling numb, and not just because his body was being controlled.

"I admit that I tried to take Naruto…and I destroyed the Hidden Leaf with the Almighty Push. I did so because I wanted to use the Tailed Beasts to bring about peace, but I know now that I was wrong. And I also tried to take the girls' lives," Nagato explained. Itachi closed his eyes, prepared for the worse when Nagato then said, "but Ariala…she's something. She protected the child with her life and awakened a new power. She looked as if she had armor and the Nine-Tails' cloak on. She barely even looked human."

"But she's alive?" Itachi asked.

"Very much so," Nagato answered. Itachi sighed in relief, trying to control his emotions. He nearly broke down when Nagato added, "and when I fought her, she looked as if she had already been defeated, but something else kept her going. Something that only she could see. Itachi, I think that was you. It was you who protected her from me and gave her that new power, I'm sure."

"Just a minute…" Itachi managed. He let go of Nagato and took a step back, bracing himself on his knees. Ari…how he longed to see her again, how he hoped she was alright. And he couldn't help but wonder how much pain he had put Ari through? How long has she been suffering? Had she forgotten about him yet? Had she healed at all?

"She really, truly loves you, Itachi," Nagato said in a solemn voice.

"That's what I was afraid of," Itachi mustered, "because she deserves so much better."

* * *

**Ari**

It had been only a week and already Naruto had mastered the Waterfall of Truth. Exhausted from his training, Bee decided to give Naruto the day off, which meant I had nothing to do. I got up early that morning while everyone else was asleep. As I went downstairs to start breakfast, I heard Hana's little voice in the living area letting out frustrated grunts. Following the sounds, I saw the little girl, frustrated, trying to get herself into a headstand. The moment her legs started to swing above her head, however, she freaked out and fell out of it.

"Sweetie, what are you doing?" I asked, curious.

"You said—" Hana grunted as she tried, and failed, to do a headstand again, "you said that if I could go upside down, I could learn gymnastics. And Daddy hasn't come back yet and I feel like you went away since he died and I want someone to play with again…and if you teach me gymnastics, we can have fun together again, right?"

I frowned, my heart breaking as she said that. She was right, since Ita died, I had been checked out. I just couldn't muster up the strength or energy to give anyone the time of day, not even me. "Oh Hana, I am so sorry," I said, pulling the girl into a tight hug, "I didn't mean to go away…"

"I know," Hana said in a sweet little voice. She hugged my neck tightly before she pulled away and smiled, "but that's why I want to do gymnastics. Well, I always wanted to do gymnastics, but I want to do it now so you can be happy again and we can play just like Daddy taught me."

I hugged Hana tighter as I laughed. Like me, Hana didn't know how to play when she first came home, and of course, Ita was the one who taught her how. I sighed heavily, drifting off into a memory that seemed so long ago…

_When we first brought her home, Hana was quiet and a little shy. She slept that entire first week, waking only to eat or bathe, the poor thing was starved and near death. But as the weeks wore on and Hana put on a little more weight, her cheeks pinked out and she began to look like a toddler should. She seemed to need something to hold onto, though, either hugging my leg or herself, so I went out and bought her a stuffed rabbit._

"_Here," I said, handing her the bunny, "this is for you."_

_Hana smiled wide as she took the rabbit into her arms, "What's his name?"_

"_Whatever you want to name it," I answered._

_Hana looked down at the rabbit, which, because she was still really small as her growth had been stunted from lack of nutrition, was almost as big as she was. Her eyes sparkled when she looked back up at me and said, "Tim-Tim!"_

_Hana had also taken an instant liking to me, she followed me around the house like a duckling, wanting to hold my hand and sit at the table to watch me cook. But I couldn't help but notice that she was still a little weary of Itachi. He would come home and try to give her a hug, but she'd cower away in fear. He'd try to tuck her in bed and give her a kiss goodnight, but she'd only stare up at him stoically, not sure what to make of him. _

_I knew that Hana adored Ita. Whenever he left for missions she would ask when he'd be home, and she'd cry if he left. And I knew Itachi wanted nothing more than to be close to his little flower, to take her up into his arms and hold her close. The affection was there, but neither one knew how to show it nor what to make of each other's feeble attempts of doing so. _

_As the days wore on, Ita got more and more frustrated with himself, and more and more distraught over how to be the father he always wanted to be. _

"_She hates me," he groaned, plopping into bed next to me. I was reading a book as he did so. I closed it and looked down to see Ita glaring up at the ceiling feeling utterly defeated._

"_What makes you say that?" I asked._

"_She won't talk to me…and she runs away whenever I try to reach out to her. She loves you, but I can't seem to break the ice with her…" he groaned, closing his eyes._

_I sighed, chuckling as I gently stroked his hair saying, "She doesn't hate you, Ita. She's shy, and she's been through a lot. She probably clings to me more because I'm like her. And men can be intimidating some times, but that's not your fault. What you two need is an opportune moment to open up to each other. Once that happens, she'll be glued to you for life. Just wait and see."_

"_But when is that going to happen?" Ita aksed._

_I shrugged, "I'll let you know when it does, okay?"_

_And sure enough, two days later I was chopping vegetables to make soup. Itachi was in the living room cleaning and Hana sat at the kitchen table. I had noticed her getting more active recently as she got stronger, and had spent the day following me with Tim-Tim in her arms as usual, but she was struggling to sit still. She would sit at the table, her chin resting on its surface as if she were about to fall asleep in the middle of a school class. Occasionally she would get up and walk around or mess with Tim-Tim, but she would grow anxious and sit back down. After the third time she did this, she hopped back into her seat and let out a heavy sigh._

"_Hana, you know you can do something else if you want to," I said gently with a smile, "you don't have to follow me around all day if its boring."_

"_What else can I do?" Hana asked curiously, her purple eyes wide._

"_Well," I began. I turned to face her and leaned against the counter, crossing my arms and said, "you could go outside and play."_

"_Play?" Hana raised an eyebrow, "what's a play?"_

_I cocked my head to the side. I went over and sat down next to Hana and said, "oh you know, playing, like what kids your age do to have fun?"_

_Hana stared at me blankly and shook her head, "I don't know that that is."_

"_You mean you've never played before?" I asked in partial disbelief. How could a kid her age not know how to play? She was a kid! That's what kids are supposed to do!_

_But as Hana stared down at Tim-Tim, tugging gently on his ears and said, "I've always been alone…I was never really around other kids before," I couldn't help but think back to another little girl trapped in the lonely world of shinobi, with a childhood so isolated, she didn't even know how to play either. _

"_Ah, I see," I said nodding my head. I tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled as I explained, "well, playing is when you get to run around and do things like climb trees or play games or pretend to be different things. And you do it for fun and usually with other people."_

_Hana stared at me with wide eyes as a smile grew on her face, "That sounds fun!"_

_I nodded my head and said, "all of the kids your age get together to play. When I take you to Konoha, you'll get to meet lots of kids to play with."_

_At that, Hana's smile fell and she looked away, embarrassed, "But…I don't know how to play…"_

"_Oh, I think we can fix that," I said unable to contain my smile, "you know, when I was little, I didn't know how to play either. But I learned how to from one of the best teachers you could ever meet. He was the master of playing."_

_At that, Hana looked back up at me and began to bounce in her chair, "do you think he could teach me how to play sometime?"_

"_Oh, he can teach you how to play right now!" I said, standing up. Hana gave me a confused look as I turned and called out, "Itachi! Can you come in here?"_

_Moments later, Ita walked into the kitchen, rubbing the sweat from his forehead. I felt bad, the poor guy had just come home from a mission and I had made him move furniture as soon as he got home and I wasn't about to give him a break. But, I had promised him there would be an opportune moment to open up to Hana, and you can't control when those come. _

"_What is it?" he asked, "Ari, if there is something else I have to do, can it wait until after dinner? I need to rest."_

"_Well, I'm afraid that this is an emergency!" I said placing my hands on my hips. Hana looked up at Ita timidly, realizing what was about to happen, but as she watched me acting like a total idiot, she let out a few quiet giggles. "Our little flower is in a crisis! She doesn't know how to play!"_

"_Oh," Ita responded, "well that's not too good." _

_I narrowed my eyes at Itachi. He obviously wasn't getting the hint. Man, for some genius, the guy could be really dense some times. Sighing heavily I continued to explain, "well, I was just telling Hana how I didn't know how to play when I was little either, but I learned the art of playing from a master! We were hoping that master could show this little girl what fun is really all about."_

_At that, Ita's eyes widened as he pointed at himself like a complete idiot, "you're talking about me…right?"_

"_Of course, genius, who else would I be talking about?" I snapped at him lightly. Ita gave a nervous smile as he knelt down beside Hana and held out his hand. Hana, in turn, held Tim-Tim tightly as she shrunk into me a little._

"_Hana, would you do me the honors of playing with me today?" Itachi asked in a sweet little voice. Hana looked up at me anxiously and I nodded for her to take his hand. _

"_Okay," she said in a little voice, placing her tiny hand in his. Her touch caused Ita to inhale sharply as he looked up at me. I motioned for him to go and he stood up. I followed the two outside to the deck and down the stairs. The ground the house was built on was rocky and imbedded in a forest, making the perfect natural playground. I sat down on the bottom step and Hana stayed close to me. _

_Ita knelt down and placed his hands gently on Hana's shoulders. He smiled and said, "Sometimes it's easier to play with both hands. Do you want to give Tim-Tim to Mom?"_

_Hana shook her head and took a step back. Ita in turn let out a nervous groan as he glanced at me. I waved my hands at him and said, "You're doing fine. Keep going. The both of you."_

"_R-right," Ita said. He then managed a smile and said, "well, the more the merrier! We'll have lots of fun today. So, have you played any games before?"_

"_No," Hana said, "I don't know how to play at all."_

"_Well," Itachi began. He stood up and placed his hands on his hips, "the first thing to playing is being absolutely silly!" Ita demonstrated by lifting a fist in the air and hopping from foot to foot like an idiot. Hana let out a slight giggle in response, covering part of her face with Tim-Tim. Itachi led her away from the deck a little bit and began to trot, "and then sometimes you have to run around."_

_Ita and Hana got going, with Ita running slowly through the trees as Hana followed closely behind. Ita had her try different things, plastering a goofy smile on his face. Eventually his smile turned into one of the biggest and brightest ones I had ever seen on his face and Hana's look of uncertainty turned into that of pure joy as she began to run around faster and faster. _

_But alas, the large bunny grew heavy on the tiring girl and she tripped over Tim-Tim's feet. She face-planted, but sat back up, whimpering a little. Ita ran over to her in a panic, trying to comfort her but not sure how. Hana looked up at Itachi and then down at Tim-Tim. I watched as she patted Tim-Tim's head and then ran over to me. My smile fell as I watched the girl return, wondering if she was done playing. And they were so close…_

_But then as Hana came over she held up the bunny and said, "could you take care of Tim-Tim while I play? I don't want him to get hurt."_

"_Sure thing!" I said, pleasantly surprised. I looked back up at Ita who didn't quite know what was going on. He looked a little hurt at the exchange, wondering if he had scared Hana away. I took Tim-Tim and held him in my lap and whispered to her, "are you still going to play? Daddy's waiting for you."_

_And then Hana did something I really wasn't expecting. She turned back towards Ita and with the biggest smile on her face she ran to him as fast as she could and attempted to leap into his arms. Because he wasn't expecting it, Itachi stood, utterly confused as Hana rammed herself into his lower abdomen and then slid down to hug his knees, laughing wildly the whole time. Ita looked up at me in shock and I laughed back at him and motioned for him to continue. Itachi's face lit up as he picked Hana up and held her above his head as he spun her around, the whole time Hana was laughing hysterically. Ita showed Hana a few more games after that, but it wasn't long before Hana took the reins, holding tightly onto his hand as she led him around the backyard, the two laughing all the way. Hana never let go of Ita's hand after that, just like I haven't._

"Mom? Moooom!" Hana waved her hand in front of my face as I snapped out of my trance.

"Oh! Sorry, I was daydreaming," I admitted slightly embarrassed.

"What about?" Hana asked. We walked through the forest that composed of this island hand-in-hand. I had been looking for a clearing with a few small trees where I could show Hana a few tricks. Unfortunately, I had spaced out long enough that I didn't think I knew where the hotel was anymore. Oops…

"Oh, I was just thinking about the first time you played with Dad is all," I explained.

Hana looked up at the sky, thinking back. She sighed heavily and said, "I feel bad…"

"How come?"

"Because I used to be afraid of Daddy before then," she admitted, "I thought he was like the other scary people in the black and red coats. But he and Uncle Dory aren't scary at all. They're the nicest people of all…"

"Yeah," I sighed. I hadn't told her about Kisame yet. Although…with the fantastic stench that had been coming out of Sharkskin ever since Killer Bee came home from his little Rapping Adventure, I had a feeling that Jaws really wasn't dead. Which is also why I hadn't collected my winnings from our bet yet. "Daddy and Uncle Dory are some pretty sweet guys, aren't they?"

"They're the best!" Hana giggled, "and so are you!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that," I said sadly. After all, I had checked out mentally on Hana, wallowing in my own self-pity…

"Of course you are, Mommy! You're the kindest, prettiest, and funnest mom I could ever have!" Hana explained, "and you're so strong too!"

"Aw, well thanks, sweetheart," I said. We spent the morning trying to get Hana to do a handstand. Unfortunately, she still had a fear of being upside down. She was fine when she would hang from the trees with Itachi, but trying to do so on her own was proving to be another challenge.

"Maaan!" Hana whined, fighting the tears, "I don't even know what I'm scared of anyway!"

"Well," I said, sitting on the ground. Feeling defeated, Hana sat in my lap, "what comes to mind when you go upside down?"

"It's raining," Hana explained, "and someone his holding my feet shaking me…like they're trying to hurt me…"

I cocked my head to the side. He she been abused as an infant? "Well, what if you swung upside down with me like you would do with Daddy?"

Hana looked up at me with fearful eyes, "you won't let go?"

"Never," I said, "I'll always protect you. Daddy and I both will."

Hana nodded and jumped into my arms and I leapt up to the nearest tree branch. She screamed as I slid upside down, holding onto me for dear life.

"Open your eyes," I said, "you aren't in the Rain Village anymore. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Shaking, Hana did as she was told and looked down. She blinked a couple of times and regained her composure, "this is just like with Dad…"

"See? You're alright," I nodded.

"Yeah!" Hana giggled, a smile on her face. After trying that a couple of times, I finally coaxed Hana into lifting her legs all the way above her head as she went into a handstand. Her feet wobbled a little out of control, threatening to sway on way or the other as she didn't have the balance yet to walk on her hands. I held her feet up, trying to keep them balanced as I followed her.

"Pull your core in," I instructed, "this is the key to all strong gymnasts."

"This is…really hard!" Hana croaked as she took hasty steps forward on her hands.

"You're doing great," I cheered her on, "if you're done just let me know and I'll help you down."

"No!" she protested.

"No you're not done or no you don't want my help?" I asked, chuckling.

"I'm not done yet!" she grunted. I laughed in response. Slowly I let go of her legs, allowing her to walk on her own. She managed to take three steps before her feet went past her head and she started to fall. She screamed as I ran forward and caught her on her back. "Ow!" Hana whimpered, her left wrist twisting slightly.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Hana nodded, holding her wrist as she glared at me through teary eyes.

"You said you wouldn't let go," she snapped.

I frowned and said, "when we were up in the tree…"

"Well you weren't supposed to let go!" Hana explained.

"I'm sorry," I said, "but you were doing so well. And some time I will have to let go. You can't fly around on the Uneven Bars or do a good vault with someone holding onto you."

"And you said I wouldn't get hurt," Hana fought back the tears. I kissed her forehead and grasped her wrist gently, healing it with my medical ninjutsu.

"Does that feel better?" I asked her. She twisted it, but her wrist wasn't even sprained. Hana nodded her head and I said, "See? You aren't hurt. And Hana, I'm sorry. I know Dad and I have made promises to not let you get hurt in the past, but if you want to be a gymnast—if you want to be a shinobi, really—injuries are going to happen. We can't learn unless we make mistakes. As much as I want to protect you and keep you safe, you won't ever grow up if I hold your hand the entire time."

Hana pursed her lips as she thought about it. She then looked up at me with scared eyes and asked, "but you'll still always be there for me, right? You'll protect me from the really scary stuff like Pein?"

"Of course I will!" I said, holding Hana tightly, "Okay, let me explain a little better. When you're training to become a gymnast or a ninja, you're going to get hurt sometimes in silly little accidents, and that's okay. I can't protect you from those accidents because those are what make you stronger. But if your life is ever on the line, I want you to know that Dad and I will be your shield. We'll always protect you, both of us."

Hana smiled and nodded as she hugged me tightly, "I love you, Mommy!"

I laughed and kissed her cheek, "I love you too, sweetie!" And with that, we wandered our way back to the hotel smiling. That morning had been the most fun either of us had ever had in a long long time.

* * *

**Kurama**

"_If I died, would you still be there for Ariala?" she asked. Kurama jumped, staring at Chinatsu Uzumaki in confusion._

"_Yes," Kurama crossed his arms, eyeing the woman suspiciously, "why wouldn't I?"_

_Chinatsu chuckled, smiling to herself, "I don't know, I just had a thought."_

_Affection was something the Kyuubi had always struggled with. Chinatsu was a woman who evoked emotion within Kurama he had never known possible. He loved her dearly, but even after all this time with her, he still didn't know how to show his love to her. A little awkwardly, Kurama placed his hand on the red-haired woman's shoulder and asked, "just what kind of thought?"_

_Chinatsu shrugged, "I don't know…I just have a feeling that Ariala is a little too much like her mother. I have a feeling that one day she will defy her social norms and disappoint both of us, only we shouldn't be disappointed. Her actions should be those that we are proud of. We'll only be disappointed because Ari has come to understand things that the rest of the world cannot fathom. She will have an open mind and heart, and she will follow it. She'll show love to someone the rest of the world does not think is worthy of even an act of kindness."_

_Kurama chuckled and shook his head, "just like you did? Chinatsu, I don't know how Ariala can surpass you. Conceiving a child with a Bijuu, that is…"_

"_I don't know," Chinatsu shrugged, "she has her mother's blood running through her veins. And she has her father's stubbornness too. I can only hope that we won't discourage her from opening her heart up to the lonely one as my family did to me. Well, she'll do it anyway, but I hope we do not disapprove of her for doing so, because who knows? Maybe she'll end up saving the both of us…"_

At the time of that conversation, Ariala was only an infant. Kurama couldn't even dream of what Chinatsu had spoken of. He had promised himself on the night his daughter was born that he would stand by Ariala's side no matter what. That he'd support her. That he would not disapprove of whatever it was Chinatsu had spoken of.

But…_but_…sometimes Chinatsu had a way of being too right. Choosing this blonde-haired brat over her own _father_? Marrying an _Uchiha_? And then helping Naruto take control of his own chakra? Had Ari gone insane? He couldn't forgive her for this…

Kurama felt all of his strength leave his body as Naruto yanked the chakra out of his massive body. The fox tried to muster up a Bijuu Bomb, but even that was rendered useless. And just like that, the blasted cage came crashing down on him. Dammit…if only he had been stronger…

…if only his daughter hadn't betrayed him…

Closing his eyes, Kurama tried to enter a rage-filled slumber, but his attempts were useless as he heard Ari and Naruto speaking from the outside world.

"How is he doing?" Ari asked.

"Well, he's kind of pissed off," Naruto noted. Kurama let out a low growl. Oh, how he wanted nothing more than to rip that boy to shreds. Kurama felt so drained, however, that he could barely manage to curl his paw into a fist.

Ari was silent for a long moment before Kurama heard her say, "could you let me talk to him for a minute? Alone?"

Oh great…first he gets his chakra ripped out of him, trapping him inside this jinchuuriki for all eternity and now he had to face his traitor of a daughter? Perfect! This day was perfect!

From within the jinchuuriki known as Killer Bee, Kurama heard the Eight Tails warn, "Ariala, that's a bad idea. You don't know what he will do—"

"I don't care," Ariala snapped back, "I've kept distant from my father long enough. I know I hurt him when I chose to protect Naruto. I know I hurt him to keep silent this long, but I never knew I could even communicate with him until now! He at least needs to hear my side of the story, I don't care if he forgives me or not. I owe him that much."

"Ugh…you're just like your mother, I hope you realize that…"

Ari said nothing, but suddenly, Kurama felt a presence appear before him that was not Naruto's. The kyuubi tried to ignore that presence, hoping she would go away if he pretended to sleep.

But unfortunately, the brat really was just like her mother.

"Dad, come on, I know you're awake," Ari said, "We need to talk."

Groaning, Kurama opened an eye to see Ari looking up at him with her hands on her hips. She sighed heavily and said, "you look like crap."

"No thanks to you, you little shit," Kurama spat back. Ari took a step away from him, her determined expression falling to that of a heartbroken one. Deep down, Kurama didn't mean to hurt Ari, but in that moment, he didn't care.

"Look, Dad, I'm sorry," Ari said, "I'm sorry if I've hurt you. You know that that is the last thing I ever wanted to do."

"Hmph," Kurama growled, "look, Kushina, I understand you not doing anything about. You were a child then and you didn't know any better. But on that night…I looked you in the eye. I saw how terrified you were. I know that you saw what happened to me. You knew that I was trapped inside Naruto and you had every single chance to free me, your father! But you deliberately ignored me! And you protected this brat! You protected the village even! That village which has scorned you and is responsible for the death of your _mother_!"

"I was a child then, Dad!" Ari fought back, "how was I supposed to know better? When I saw Naruto on that night—the night I decided to protect him, all I saw was a scared little boy living a lonely life like I was. I can't tell you how sorry I am, and you don't know how hard that was for me—"

"How hard it was for you? Don't make me laugh!" Kurama scoffed, "You just couldn't wait to get rid of me! You let the Leaf brainwash you into thinking I was a monster! And then, and then just to mock me, you run off with that Uchiha boy and—"

"_Don't you dare mock Itachi's name_," Ari let out a low growl as her eyes turned red and fangs protruded from her mouth, "He had nothing to do with you, Father."

"And there lies the problem," Kurama said sadly, "nothing has to do with me anymore. You would just rather cast me away as some unhappy memory. That's why you've helped Naruto this whole time! You just want me gone! You just want to forget your roots and live life as some blind human, is that it?"

Ari's lip quivered at that. She looked to the ground, silent for a long moment. But finally, Ari allowed tears to escape her eyes as she looked up at him sadly, "have you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe I did this because of how much I love you and Mom? Have you ever wondered how many nights I spent crying myself to sleep because of the hell I've had to put myself through for you? For Mom? For Auntie Tabi? Hana? Itachi? Naruto? Everyone else in my life? Have you ever wondered, 'hey, does my daughter miss me? Is it possible that she needs her father to comfort her and understand why she's done all the things she has? Could she need some reassurance that she isn't a complete failure in life?' I've been alone my whole life, _Dad_, and you've been here, watching me every step of the way and letting me live my life in _hell_! You could have easily reached out to me and I could have talked to you and told you what was going through my head! You could have been there for me, but no! You just let me suffer!"

"I let you suffer?" Kurama growled back, "You only hurt yourself, Ariala. You deserve to suffer! Never in my life did I think I would be more disappointed in my child than I am now!"

"Disappointed," Ari mocked, forcing a sad laugh, "See that's funny, because I have this distant memory of you promising Mother that you would never be disappointed in me. I remember her warning you, even, that I was her child and that I would come to see things that you wouldn't be able to understand. Her entire family, everyone she knew and loved turned their backs to her when she did so much as to show you kindness. She was disowned when she shared her love for you. You promised her that you would not treat me the way her father did, and yet here you are breaking that promise. Uncle Gyuuki was right…I shouldn't have even bothered to talk to you. You're just some bitter defeated asshole who can't see past his own personal needs! And what sucks is even after everything, I still love you more than anything! So thanks for that!" Ari was screaming and sobbing by the time she had finished yelling at him. As she threw Kurama's promise back at his face, the giant fox slowly began to realize his mistake, his heart falling at the sight of seeing his daughter so alone in the world.

"Ari, wait-!" he called out, but he was too late. Ari's chakra vanished from inside the seal. Outside, he could hear Ari stomp off with her friends trying to call after her. But just as Ari began to leave the room, the blue Akatsuki, Kisame, broke free of his hiding place within his sword. Kurama lied down in his cage and closed his eyes as a mixture of guilt and rage built up within him. As the chaos ensued, he could only think of one thing:

What the hell had he just done?

* * *

**Ari**

It took everything I had to keep Hana restrained and crying out. She covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face. I held my own breath as Yamato bound an unconscious Kisame in his wood ninjutsu. This was a little too much to see, even for me.

Aoba, one of the Leaf Shinobi from the intel unit who came with us to this island, began to probe through Kisame's mind to gain information on him and the Akatsuki. I bit my lip. If he found out about my relationship with him and Itachi…

I sighed heavily, what did it matter? Kisame was my friend, and if I had been as good of a friend to him as he had been to me, I would have busted him loose, regardless of the consequences.

But my father had been right after all, I really was a traitor…

"I'm sorry, Kisame…" I said in a low voice. Unfortunately, I was loud enough to distract Aoba as he turned to face me in confusion. Then suddenly, Kisame let out a yelp and blood came streaming out of his mouth as he chomped down hard on his tongue. "Kisame!" I called out in alarm. Crying out in determination, Kisame broke through all of his restraints and summoned his sharks, only they turned around to eat _him._

"He's killing himself?" Aoba cried out in shock.

I pulled Hana's face to my chest as she whimpered, terrified, "Look away, Hana!" I ordered, "everything is okay!"

I locked eyes onto Kisame, half-expecting him to be angry with me for not helping him when he needed me. But Kisame gave me a happy grin. As his sharks began to eat him, he held up two fingers and then made a hand motion as if he wanted me to give him something.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, but then I remembered our bet. "Oh shit, Jaws!" I chuckled, shaking my head. I hadn't just said his real name, but I said it twice. Kisame smiled wider as he started laughing. I looked around, everyone else was in such a panic that they hadn't noticed our exchange.

Hana looked up at me, still looking away from the morbid sight behind her as she asked, "Where's Uncle Dory going?"

"To meet up with Dad," I answered, "Jaws…Kisame, thank you."

Kisame in response shook his head and held up three fingers. I rolled my eyes but nodded my head in acknowledgement. The Akatsuki then closed his eyes, dying in peace with a smile on his face. I sighed heavily, grateful for the friend I had in him. He never saw me as a traitor, just as I never saw him as a criminal. We were only good friends who had each other's backs. I may not have been able to save his life in the end, but I at least allowed him to win our bet…three times in his final moments.

"He sacrificed his own life to protect his comrads," Gai noted as the sharks dissipated. I let Hana go and she looked around in confusion as the only remains were puddles of water and a bit of blood. "He died a fine shinobi," Gai continued, "I will never forget you, Kisame Hoshigaki."

I smiled sadly to myself. Not only did Kisame get to win our bet, but he finally got Gai to remember his name. I felt heavy, fighting the overwhelming sorrow that accompanied a lost friend, but I managed to stand and return to where we had left Naruto. In the uproar, Naruto had gotten his foot stuck in the wall, unable to control his own strength. After Kisame's attacks, we received a series of earthquakes caused by what we figured was the enemy knocking on our front door. Yamato left to dispel the issue, and eventually the earthquakes quieted down. But Yamato didn't come back. I sat with Hana and watched as Bee trained Naruto, but after a couple of days confined in tight quarters, Naruto began to sense disturbances outside.

It wasn't long before Naruto realized there was a full-scale war on his hands. Once he tried to break out, Bee wasn't going to stop him. In fact, I think Bee only motivated Naruto to make an even grander escape than planned. I chased after them but only found Iruka and the guards to the exit of the island standing alone, defeated.

"Did he get out?" I asked Iruka, holding Hana in my arms.

"Yeah," Iruka said sadly, "I can't protect him anymore…"

I smiled sadly and admitted, "no one can. He's grown up now."

Iruka looked up at me with a serious expression on his face, "Ari, with Naruto gone, the enemy knows where you all are. You and Hana are in grave danger, and we cannot protect you any longer. If you're going to live, you're going to have to fight alongside Naruto."

Hana gasped and looked up at me in a panic, "but Mommy! You can't leave me!"

"It's okay, Hana," I whispered gently. I held her tightly in my arms. Going to the battlefield was no problem for me, but Hana… "Iruka," I began, "how close are we to Konoha?"

"Um, about a day's journey," Iruka said, "we're in the southern portion of the Cloud. The fighting is more to the east and the north. If you kept to the mountains, you could hopefully reach Konoha without a problem, but we don't know how many sensory ninja are on the enemy's side."

"Alright," I said, "that's all I need to know, thank you."

With that, I took off for the Leaf.

"Wait!" Iruka called after me, "what are you going to do?"

"What I was meant to do!" I called back. I thought back to a distant memory of my mother standing over me, protecting me while my father fought against Madara Uchiha.

"_I feel that peace will befall this land in the future. But not after great adversity. You are the bridge between shinobi and bijuu...you are the only one who understands both sides, and for that reason I have a feeling you will help pilot the road to peace...so please...live on...live on in another time...a safer...world..."_

As her words rang in my ear, I elaborated, "I'm going to bring peace to this world once and for all!"

I ran as fast as I could towards Konoha. Power surged through me as I took on my unique Bijuu Mode, my armor and nine tails covering me in a light red light. It was late at night when I found Kurenai in her house, rocking her newborn son to sleep.

"Ari! What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"Naruto got out," I explained, "and the situation has gotten worse. Kurenai, I hate to do this to you but…could you watch Hana while I'm gone?"

"You know I can," Kurenai smiled, "but what about you? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to do what I can to help Naruto," I explained, "I'll come back and check in on Hana as much as I can since I don't know how long I'll be gone." I then set Hana down and helped her get ready for bed. On our way to Konoha, I had explained to her what was going to happen. It was hard for her to say goodbye, but she knew I would be back. I wouldn't die so easily, not as long as I had a reason to live in this world.

"You'll play with me when you come home, right?" Hana asked.

I nodded, smiling as I gave her Tim-Tim, tucking her into bed that night, "you know I will."

"Be safe," Hana said, hugging me gently.

"I will, I love you sweetie," I whispered.

"I love you too," Hana said as she closed her eyes and went to sleep. I turned the lights out to the room and thanks Kurenai once again, giving her as much money as I had to help her pay for groceries or anything else Hana would need while I was gone. I quickly made my way out of the village and raced to join Naruto and Bee, with no idea what future would lay ahead of me.

But little did I know that it was only my past which would come forward, bombarding me with bitch-slap after bitch-slap, taking form in a dead fiancé, my worst nightmares, and one really pissed off best friend who I never got to apologize to after our last fight.

And really pissed off didn't even begin to describe how Saya was when I encountered her again.


	21. Chapter 20: Edo Tensei

**Itachi**

In the midst of the night, the stalemate of war, Itachi and Nagato were still wandering aimlessly. What was their controller's purpose for them? Itachi had a few ideas, but he didn't like any of them at all. Between his Mongekyo Sharingan and Nagato's Rinnegan, the duo could do absolutely anything.

"This is strange," Nagato stated suddenly in a hushed voice, "I sense other sharingan users nearby."

"What?" Itachi asked. Had his clan been revived by the Edo Tensei as well? If they had been, Itachi had a bad feeling that the user of this jutsu wouldn't even need to control the Uchiha clan. Anticipating the worst, Itachi braced himself for any kind of attack, but the traveling forms only passed. There were four of them. Two with a sharingan, two without. Itachi's eyes widened as he got a good look at who the group was.

The first one was Haru of the Venom. He and his teammate Kokoro the Terrible didn't seem to notice Itachi at all. But then Saya passed with Father at her side. They both glanced and stared at Itachi in shock. Saya grimaced and started to veer toward him, but Father placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "keep moving. We don't know where this jutsu is supposed to take us."

"But-!"

"And do not be angry with him, it appears that Itachi has also died…" Father's voice sounded a little sad as he noted Itachi's slightly altered appearance, but then the Uchiha redirected the conversation and asked, "Do you sense what we're chasing?"

"Yeah," Saya spat, "It's Ari…"

* * *

**Ari**

Dammit, where the hell did Naruto go? I had run into several Edo Tensei Shinobi and managed to seal each one (thank goodness for being from the Uzumaki Clan!), and the more I encountered them, I knew the closer I was drawing to the battlefront. And in the middle of the night with Naruto running around like a giant glowing beacon, you'd think he'd be easier to find!

I panted as I ran, growing tired much faster than I had anticipated. In order to hide Hana, I had to give her some of my chakra to conceal her own, but I had not yet recovered what I had lost. I couldn't even mask my own chakra signature anymore, which meant I was prey just waiting to be hunted.

I slowed my pace to a walk, taking extra precaution. Even though night was a stalemate of war, things were starting to get a little too quiet. I looked up into the trees, not sure if the forms above me were wildlife or something else. An owl stirred and flew out from the tree I was watching, on its way to hunt for a mouse it had its sights on. I grimaced, to the enemy, I was practically a mouse right now.

But that's when I saw Naruto's form glowing like a flashlight. Bee followed closely behind, both of them moving at a pretty good clip. They hadn't noticed me yet as they were several hundred yards away, but I let my guard down and went to join them.

And that's when the attacked.

First the senbon needles. I gasped as one grazed my arm, breaking the skin, but the wound wasn't deep enough for the poison to get into my body. I leapt into the air, dodging the rest of the needles and deflecting them with my kunai.

Then I felt it. The paralysis genjutsu of the sharingan. After all my years with Itachi, I could easily break free of the genjutsu, but then I realized that there were two genjutsus acting on me, which made it harder to break free.

"Dammit!" I cursed, "Just who the hell is out there?"

"Oh just your best friend," I heard a feminine voice answer. My eyes widened as I saw none other than Saya leap from the trees with Fugaku closely behind her. She took a couple of steps forward, glaring fiercely at me as she corrected, "or should I say _ex-_best friend?"

"S-Saya?" I asked in disbelief. She was so…little! She hadn't aged a day, and now to me she looked like a child. "So the Edo Tensei is controlling you too?"

"Not right now," she spat, cracking her knuckles, "because right now I have a score to settle with you…"

"What score?" I asked. What was she talking about?

"You mean you don't remember all that crap you said about my brother? About my clan? You don't remember acting like some Bijuu Fan Club member and stomping all over my family's name?" she asked.

I grimaced. Oh. That. I was sure that neither of us had meant what we said in the last fight we had, and I had bought her a pair of earrings to make up with her. But when I got to her house…Ita had already finished his mission. That fight was the last time she saw me, and now here I was, grown up looking at the teenage girl as if she was nothing more than a distant memory.

"Saya, come on, you know that neither of us meant what we said in that fight," I apologized, "and I am so sorry for what happened, believe me. But let's be honest, that wasn't the first time we got into a screaming match and—"

"Well it was certainly the last!" Saya barked, "and you never bothered to apologize! And then, and _then_ your boyfriend had to go and destroy us! Itachi and Shisui were supposed to help us lead the Revolution! Itachi killed my brother and then the rest of his clan and it's all because of you!"

"Me?" I retorted, trying to buy some time to break free of this confounded genjutsu, "I didn't even know about the coup until after the massacre! And Ita didn't kill Shisui! Neither of them were for this so-called Revolution in the first place!"

"Ugh! You're such a liar!" Saya roared, charging towards me. I grimaced, managing to break the last invisible string which held me still. I lifted my leg kicking her hard in the ribs as she approached and sent her flying back to the trees. I sighed heavily, man, not only had I aged, but I was amazed at how much stronger I had become since Saya had died.

Fugaku took a step towards me then, his sharingan activated. I braced myself for his attack. Even though he was technically my squad's sensei, I never really had a chance to see him in battle, I didn't quite know what he was capable of.

"Ari," he said in a low voice, "I do not hate nor resent Itachi for what he did, but as Saya said, I can't help but wonder if his resolve was because of you. And if I'm not mistaken, Itachi has died too, am I right?"

I lowered my head and grimaced, "when you live the life of a criminal, heart medications are hard to come by."

"That's what I feared," Fugaku sighed, "now tell me, were you the one who convinced him to join the village's side? Was this all because of you?"

"No!" I cried out, "at least I hope not! If it was because of me, I had no idea what was going on at the time. All I knew was that you guys were distancing yourselves from the village. Itachi tried to keep me away. Look, I'm sorry for what happened, I truly am, but I didn't intentionally harm Itachi. Nor did I mean to cause your family any problems."

"Yeah right! You run around with that jinchuuriki! What are you, the Kyuubi's brat, or something?" Saya snapped at me, charging again. I immediately saw through her genjutsu and released four chakra chains from my body. Kokoro and Haru took the opportunity to attack me, dodging my first two chains

"Oh? The little brat who took us down, eh?" Haru chuckled, "you certainly all that much without your boyfriend with you, now are you?"

I let out a growl and unleased my Bijuu Mode, my tails swirling angrily behind me as two more chains bubbled out, drenched in the Nine Tails' cloak, each one with a sealing tag bound to them. They struck Haru and Kokoro, binding them and sealing them instantly, their bodies falling apart into the paper that seemingly recreated them.

Fugaku looked back at the sealed away tag team and then back to me in awe, "What the hell?"

"What are you, some kind of monster?" Saya asked, staring at my chakra armor in awe.

I glared at her with blood red eyes and spat, "Yes. It's just as you said, Saya, I am in fact the Kyuubi's brat. His filthy, traitorous brat!"

I wrapped my chakra chains around the two, binding them, but not sealing them completely. I couldn't do that to them just yet.

"Ari," Fugaku said in a solemn voice, "it seems you've suffered just as much as Itachi. But what I don't understand is, why? Why would either of you make the decisions you have?"

"I wish I knew," I responded, closing my eyes.

"I don't understand," Saya stared at me in fear, "you're joking, right?"

"You don't know anything about me, Saya," I snapped at her, "you scream at me and throw a temper tantrum because things don't go your way. You try to tell me what to do, how to be, and yet you never stopped to actually try to get know me. You called yourself my friend, yet you knew nothing. And when you do learn the truth you go around treating me like the bad guy. Don't you get tired of this shit?"

"Don't coddle me like a child Ari!" Saya roared.

"Well I hate to tell you this, but you are a child!" I growled back fiercely.

"You're just nothing more than a monster! I can't believe I ever called you my friend!" Saya shouted, fighting confused tears. I sighed heavily, shaking my head.

"You know nothing about me," I said in a low voice, "and you know nothing about Ita. Either of you. You know, this whole mess could have been avoided if you guys had just _listened_ to the Third Hokage!"

"Ari, there was a lot going on at the time," this time it was Fugaku's turn to snap at me, "the Uchiha Clan was being pushed to the side, cast down by the Senju! We had no other option, and when Itachi was born with his gifted abilities, we only had one shot of reclaiming our greatness. It was the only option we had."

I narrowed my eyes, "and you're wrong again! I don't know the entire history of the Uchiha and the Senju, but did you know how much the Third Hokage loved Itachi? How much potential he saw in him?"

"And just what do you mean by that?" Fugaku asked, slightly confused.

I took in a deep breath, thinking back to a conversation Ita and I had had with Lord Third just before the massacre. I hadn't paid second though to it until recently, but I had a feeling that the Hokage's remarks were because of the impending bloodshed.

"_Itachi," he said, "since you were a boy, you had the resolve of a hokage. I'm sure if he were standing here today, Hashirama, our first hokage, would have said that you were a greater shinobi than even he. I hope there comes a day when you are able to succeed me as the Fifth Hokage, and the first one from the Uchiha Clan."_

"_Lord Hokage," Ita said with wide eyes. He knelt down on the ground and bowed his head, "I am not worthy for such an honorable position."_

"_And it is for that reason, Itachi, that you truly are of worth," the Hokage smiled._

Ita never wanted to talk about that conversation, but I had felt it too. Itachi was a great leader, and he probably cared about the village more than anyone else. He would have made a great hokage.

I looked into Fugaku's eyes and stated, "Fugaku, Itachi cared more about the village than he did the clan's needs. He wanted both to be happy, but the safety of the Leaf weighed more heavily on his shoulders than the Uchiha's desires. But you know what? If you had ceased the coup, given up on trying to bring the Uchiha to the top, you guys would have been able to rise to power."

"I don't understand," Fugaku said, "you aren't trying to tell me that an Uchiha could have actually become Hokage, are you?"

"Indeed I am," I said, "in fact, the Third Hokage wanted Itachi to succeed him. If the massacre had never happened, Itachi would be standing as the Fifth Hokage today, and he would still be alive. Whether or not this war would have ensued, I don't know, but the village would be a hell of a lot more stable than it is now."

"That's just a load of bullshit!" Saya snapped at me.

"Wait," Fugaku said, lowering his head, "Ari, did the hokage really say that?"

"He did," I answered, "and he mourned for your death. The whole village did. You may have felt exiled, but you were still loved. You just needed to open your eyes and see what stood before you."

"I see," Fugaku stated, a sad smile growing on his face, "he would have made an excellent hokage…I saw that potential in Itachi. His wisdom far exceeded his years, and yet I only could see his skill in battle…and I only saw you as a distraction…you're all he could think about, you know? Ari, I was a fool, please forgive me…"

"I was never angry with you," I answered. At that, Fugaku smiled, and I watched in amazement as the Uchiha's soul lifted out of his reanimated body as the body turned to paper and dissipated, leaving only the sacrifice required for the Edo Tensei behind.

I looked from Saya to where Fugaku had been and back. I narrowed my eyes at Saya, really confused, "what just happened?"

"Like I know!" Saya barked, "and let me go so I can kick your ass!"

I groaned and rubbed my temples. This wasn't going to go anywhere…I needed to make up with Saya, I couldn't let her die still angry with me. Despite everything, she had still been my best friend. And she still was.

"Did Fugaku say that you guys ran into Ita?" I asked.

"Yeah," Saya grumbled, "what's it matter? He's dead too!"

I sighed heavily and looked to the sky. Did I really want to see him again? Of course I did, but…was it worth the pain of having to say goodbye again?

But as if to answer my question on whether or not to go, I heard a loud summoning and one of Pein's giant birds and Hell-Hounds appeared in the distance. I saw Naruto's little glowing form struggling against Pein's grasp. Well, guess I was going to say hi to Itachi then!

"Come with me," I said, pulling Saya onto her feet. The chakra chain disappeared but I placed a seal on the back of her neck. I activated it only half way, which layered another jutsu over the Edo Tensei. Now, Saya was under my control.

"Dammit, Ari!" Saya grunted as she was forced to follow me. I ignored her and we ran through the trees to where the battle was ensuing. We came across a clearing and I found Killer Bee draw his eight swords and was dancing around Ita in battle.

"Bee! Itachi!" I called out. Both glanced over at me, but otherwise kept fighting. I groaned. That asshole didn't even say hi to me! Suddenly, Itachi got the upper hand in the battle and was about to take Bee out. I immediately drew my twin swords and ran in front of Killer Bee, blocking Itachi's attack.

"Ari, what are you doing here?" Itachi barked at me.

"Good to see you too!" I retorted, pushing Ita off of me.

"Stop looking at my eyes, Ari!" Ita ordered, but he was too late. He dissipated into crows and came up behind me. I sparred with Itachi and managed to break through the genjutsu, however, it was at the cost of releasing my half-seal on Saya. Within moments of fighting Itachi off, Saya came crashing down on me, focusing all of her chakra into her fist.

"Dammit!" I screamed out, barely able to fend her off.

"And who is that pretty lady?" Bee yelped as I attempted to dodge Saya's punches. I had forgotten how fast this girl was…

"She's my best friend!" I called out, "and a little help would be appreciated!"

"Ex-best friend, you whore!" Saya snapped.

"And who are you calling a whore, you freaking Barbie?" I growled.

Ita paused from his fighting and gave Saya and me a really confused look, "what the hell happened with you two?"

We both turned at Ita, struggling in each other's grasp and snapped, "YOU DID!"

"Uh…" was all Ita could muster.

"She's just throwing a tantrum because we never resolved our argument before she died is all," I elaborated once I finally pushed Saya off of me.

"A tantrum? For the last time, I'm not a child!" Saya retorted, "and I'll never forgive you for this! I swear it!"

"Agh! _Teenagers!_" I growled, kicking Saya away from me, "I swear to God, if Hana ever gets this bad I'll-!"

"WHO THE HELL IS HANA?"

"MY DAUGHTER!"

At that Saya paused and gave Ita and me a disgusted look, "Gross…"

"She's adopted," Ita explained, groaning, "But Ari, where is Hana anyway?"

"She's safe," I explained, "she's with Kurenai."

At about that moment, the Edo Tensei jutsu took control of Ita again and I had both him and Saya coming after me.

"How long have I been gone?" Itachi asked between punches, "has Hana grown at all?"

"Oh man, she's shot up several inches since you've been gone," I answered, "I can't find anything that fits her for more than a month right now. She's started learning gymnastics, though I couldn't give her too many lessons before this whole war broke out. But you've only been gone a few months, so don't worry. You haven't missed too much."

"Not yet at least," Ita said in a low voice. I frowned, fighting the tears. He had a point after all. Ita's eyes were full of sorrow, but then he closed them as he grimaced. He looked back up at me with his Mongekyo Sharingan, his expression filled with more determination than I had ever seen before. He then leapt up into the trees and to Nagato's bird summoning and sat on its beak. I observed Ita in confusion as he stared down at Naruto. The air shifted suddenly and panic arose within me. Oh no…Amaterasu!

Nagato only confirmed my fears as he warned Naruto, who was standing in Itachi's line of sight, "Naruto! He's going to use Amaterasu!"

"We've got to stop him!" I cried. This wouldn't end well at all! Bee threw one of his swords straight at Itachi, but Nagato only deflected it.

But to my surprise, no black flames came out as Ita activated his Mongekyo.

Naruto pitched forward, gagging on something and I leapt up to his side. Was he caught in a Tsukuyomi instead? "Naruto!" I cried out, placing my hand on his back. In response, Naruto's mouth was forced open as a giant black crow poked its head out. I jumped back in shock as Naruto spat out the crow. In its left eye was a sharingan.

"That's my brother's!" Saya cried out angrily as she leapt next to me. The crow flew off and I looked up at Itachi in awe. What had he just done? Before I had time to think, black flames sprouted on the Hell-Hound's heads and began to spread. Fast. The three of us leapt off the giant dog and onto the tree tops, still confused. Ita's Amaterasu…missed? Was he really that blind?

But then Ita looked back at Nagato and set both him and the giant bird on fire before leaping to where we stood.

"What?" I stared at Itachi horribly confused.

"Relax, I'm not under the control of Edo Tensei anymore," he explained. He then glanced at Saya who jumped as their sharingan locked onto each other, "and now, neither is Saya."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked. The crow came over and landed on the boy's shoulder. I took a closer look at the bird's left eye. Yep. That was definitely Shisui's Mongekyo alright. But why…?

"I layered a new genjutsu to the enemy's jutsu," Ita said, "a jutsu that orders me to protect the Leaf, so it erased the effects of the Edo Tensei. I rigged that crow to appear in response to my Mongekyo Sharingan just in case a time like this came."

I was starting to catch on when Bee joined us and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"It's implanted in that crow's left eye," Itachi said, "Shisui Uchiha's eye. Within it lies the ultimate genjutsu in existence."

"Koto Amatsukami," I finished for him. I had only ever seen Shisui use it once, and it was just before his death in Nagano River.

"Yes," Itachi nodded his head, then explained to a still confused Naruto, "using that genjutsu, I was able to restore myself and Saya, though the Mongekyo has already worn off.

"Shisui…Uchiha…?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Uchiha's most powerful genjutsu user, Shisui the Teleporter," Bee explained.

Saya crossed her arms and glared at Itachi, further stating, "and my brother. Why do you have his eye in the first place? Did you steal it after you killed him?"

Momentarily ignoring her jab, Ita continued, "Shisui's visual prowess creates a powerful genjutsu that allows you to control someone without them ever realizing it. I programmed the genjutsu with the order, 'protect the Hidden Leaf' into Shisui's eye which I then put into the crow. After that, I gave that crow to you, Naruto. Though, I never realized that I would be using it on myself one day.

"But…why did you give that eye to me? And Saya has a point, why do you have that eye anyway?" Naruto asked.

Itachi deactivated his Mongekyo and wiped the blood from his eye. Sighing, Itachi began, "Self-sacrifice…a nameless shinobi who protects peace from within the shadows. That is a true shinobi. Shisui taught me that. Shisui anticipated a battle would ensue for his eyes, so he erased his existence and made it seem as if his eyes were destroyed. I helped him by becoming the target of suspicion in the village. When I last saw Shisui, however, Danzo had already confronted him and stole his right eye. He entrusted his left eye with me and disappeared forever. I gave that eye to you because you share Shisui's feelings. If Sasuke, whom I left behind, ever became a threat to the village, I would have betrayed all that Shisui entrusted me to do. But you are the one who can make things right. You once said Sasuke was your brother and that's why I felt, Naruto, that you were the only one who could stop him. Who could save him. I figured that in pursuit of power, Sasuke would transplant my eyes to obtain the Eternal Mongekyo. If that ever happened, then the crow was supposed to emerge, reacting the my transplanted eyes when you came in contact with him, using Koto Amatsukami on him to protect the Leaf. That was my plan, anyway."

"I don't buy it," Saya grumbled, "You can't just waltz in here with my brother's eye and Koto Amatsukami in tow, and proceed to tell me that he _gave _it to you! Not after you killed him!"

"Saya!" I barked at her, "you don't know what happened the night your brother died. You were at the Uchiha's secret meeting, remember?"

"He killed Shisui to obtain the Mongekyo, and then took his left eye to obtain Koto Amatsukami and that's that. Don't try to make out like some kind of saint, Itachi," Saya spat. Ita grimaced in response, a little hurt by her words.

"Saya, it's true that I obtained the Mongekyo because of Shisui's death, but I did not kill him. He asked me to come and witness his final moments so I could have the strength to do what I had been ordered to do. He took his life in order to protect the village—"

"NO!" Saya stomped her foot, "you're nothing more than a traitor! You killed my brother!"

"Saya, shut your mouth before I shut it for you!" I growled at her, "like I said before, you were not there when your brother died! You didn't see Ita crying when he knocked on my door that night, you didn't see just how much Shisui's death affected him, so stop being such a spoiled brat and _grow up_!"

When I finished yelling at her, I realized that I was holding her by the collar of her shirt. She glared at me with her sharingan, fighting back tears, but otherwise said nothing back.

"Ari, it's alright," Itachi said, "she has every right to be angry."

Sighing heavily, I released Saya and crossed my arms, fighting off every single ounce of anger which welled up inside me.

This time it was Bee's turn to interrogate, "but wait, why didn't you just cast that jutsu on Sasuke from the start with Shisui's eye?"

"It's not that I didn't, I couldn't at the time," Ita explained, "Shisui's eye would take decades to reactivate after using Koto Amatsukami without his body or chakra. Also, there were many things I wanted to do for Sasuke with my death."

I sighed heavily, unable to truly make eye contact with Ita just yet. I couldn't believe he was standing before me, and I had to constantly remind myself that he was nothing more than a revived corpse, that he wouldn't be staying here, even if he was free of Edo Tensei's control.

"Itachi," Naruto said in a low voice, "Thank you for trusting me, you don't have to worry anymore. You've done more than enough for the village, so let me take care of the rest."

Ita's eyes widened for a moment before he looked down, smiling sadly as he said, "I'm so grateful that my brother has a friend like you…"

"Ita…" I managed to say out loud, finally looking at him. It was so hard to look at him, without breaking down into tears at least. It was like seeing a ghost.

Ita looked up at me and we locked eyes with each other. He opened his mouth to say something, but then we heard sudden movement on the ground beneath us as Nagato disappeared. We looked around, trying to find the man, but then he appeared in the sky suddenly and used Shinra Tensei to blow us all away. Ita grabbed both Saya and I by the waists and leapt out of the attack's range. We fell clumsily to the ground and Ita used himself as a shield to protect us from debris. I grasped tightly onto Ita's hand as he hugged my shoulder, protecting me.

_*Ugh…he smells like a corpse…*_ I thought to myself as I breathed through my mouth. He didn't smell like Ita at all…

_*Well I am a corpse, thank you for pointing that out…*_

"WOAH!" I yelped, looking at him. It had been long enough that I almost forgot that our minds still connected.

Ita raised an eyebrow, "I take it I wasn't supposed to hear that?"

"No!" I snapped, "Ugh…sorry, it's been awhile."

At that, Itachi sighed heavily and said in a sad voice, "have you…moved on? At all?"

"Uh…no?" I answered, raising eyebrow. Why would I?

"Dammit," Ita cursed.

"Should I? Because I'm not going to, Ita," I said heavily, "you can't love someone so hard for so long and just let them go like they never existed. I might never recover from the pain of losing you, but I don't really want to. We may not have had long together, but those memories we made are more important to me than just moving on and finding some other man who can't give me in a lifetime what you gave me in three years."

At that, Ita glanced at me with his sad puppy eyes and squeezed my waist tightly. He chuckled and said, "you're too good to me…"

"Oh my god…" Saya groaned.

"This is all your fault, I hope you realize," I teased her, "if you hadn't made me open my big fat mouth that day on the trampoline and forced me into admitting that I had a crush on your cousin in the first place, you wouldn't have to be listening to this right now!"

"Oh shut up, Man-Hands!" Saya snapped back at me, trying to keep from smiling.

I laughed, part of me regaining my childhood again.

Ita jumped, staring at both of us in shock, "Wait, so that's what that was about? That day on the trampoline before our first ANBU mission?"

"Yep," I nodded, "actually, most trampoline conversations involved you."

"Which is why you weren't allowed on it," Saya added.

"Hmm," Ita hummed, his shoulder's sagging a little as he glared forward.

"What's the humming for this time?" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm an idiot…" Ita spat.

"No, you're just a really dense genius," I corrected. I then looked up and was startled to find Nagato holding Naruto up in a choke-hold, using the soul-sucking Pein's power to rip Naruto's soul right out of him. "Okay, we really need to move!" I said.

"Well then let's get him!" Saya began to stand. I grabbed her by her shirt collar and pulled her back down. She fell backwards and landed on her butt hard before she shot me a nasty glare.

"Hold on," I said, "see those camelions and the statue thing over by Nagato? They all have the Rinnegan so that means their vision is connected to Nagato. He can see what they see, so there is no way to sneak up behind him."

And just to prove my point, Bee attempted to run up behind Nagato to attack, but the man in turn sprouted mechanical arms from his shoulder and blocked Bee, also holding him in a choke-hold.

"Leave this to me," Ita said, patting me on the shoulder as he stood. I drew out several kunai and leapt into the air, using a technique that had been used in sharingan training for years, but was hardly ever needed in battle. He struck each camelion and the sealing statue in the eyes and before he even landed on the ground, he summoned his Susanoo, the beast's still skeletal hand striking the ground and slicing Nagato's arms, freeing Bee and Naruto.

"How does he come up with these strategies?" Saya asked in awe as we followed to meet up with him.

"I wish I knew," I groaned, "and trust me, listening to his thought process doesn't do anything to help you understand that at all."

We leapt inside Susanoo's energy field as it held Naruto and Bee in its hands.

"So this is Susanoo! Wow, what a show!" Bee rapped.

"I never thought I'd say this, but thanks for the save, Itachi!" Naruto cheered as Susanoo set the two down. I walked over to Ita and grasped hold of his hand. We watched as Nagato regenerated, trying to figure out what he was going to do next.

His form tensing at my touch, Ita swiftly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. I placed my hand on his chest trying to ignore his absent heartbeat and he clasped his other hand on top of mine, connecting our thoughts.

_*Alright, I've never fought Pein directly before, do you have any idea what he will do next?* _he asked me.

I shook my head, _*Not at all. The most I fought with was the Pein which used Shinra Tensei. Naruto's the only one who has encountered all six forms of attack, but even then I'm not sure Naruto is able to predict his movements.*_

_*Well that sucks.*_

I looked up at Ita, stifling a laugh. I hadn't seen him get this pissed over a battle in a while. Behind me, I heard Naruto groan, "Let me guess, mind-reading?"

"Yep!" I rolled my eyes.

"And I don't suppose that the closer and more gooshy you two get with each other, the better you two can hear each other?" Naruto placed his hands on his hips and nagged.

I turned my head towards him and shot him a glare, "Hey! We're engaged, thank you! And he's been dead!"

"Ari, get ready," Ita said, crouching with me still in his arms. I averted my attention back to Nagato and narrowed my eyes, watching in confusion as the man lifted his hand up and sent a small black orb up to the sky. At first it didn't do anything, but then I felt a strong pull try to lift me off the ground as trees and rocks and rubble began to fly towards the black orb.

"Gagh!" Naruto yelped as the ground beneath us shattered like glass. I was ripped out of Ita's grasp as we began to float towards the sphere, using all of our strength to try to stay on the ground.

"What is that?" Bee yelped out. Saya screeched as she shielded her eyes to avoid getting hit by the boulders flying around her.

"That black sphere has an enormous gravitational pull," Ita noted. I groaned. No shit, Sherlock!

"Got a plan?" I asked him, figuring he was stating the obvious to come up with one of his full-proof schemes.

"Working on it…" Ita gritted his teeth as he fought to keep Susanoo active, the gravity felt as if it was pulling our very chakra out of us.

"Oh man!" Naruto began to panic, "He got me with this jutsu once! It's a nasty one! Sure death! If you get caught in it, it's over!"

Ita narrowed his eyes, trying not to sound too condescending as he groaned, "Uhhhh, hello? Naruto?"

"WHAAAT?" Naruto shrieked.

"If it's a sure death, how are you still alive?" he asked.

Naruto gave Ita a stupid look and grunted, not sure how to answer the question. I sighed heavily. Naruto just wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, even if he was glowing.

At that, Bee started laughing and rapped, "We'll be alright, we can still fight!"

"This is no time for laughing!" Naruto snapped at Bee, "How can you be so easygoing when we're in a bind like this? If we're caught, we'll never be able to get out! I only got out because the Nine-Tails went on a rampage and—"

Ita cut Naruto off before the boy could panic anymore, "It's not about being easygoing. You have to be calm and analyze the situation. It's safe to assume that the sphere Nagato threw earlier is the central core of this gravity. We should all aim our strongest attacks at that sphere."

"But we can't aim with all of this crap flying around!" Naruto shrieked, trying to dodge several tree trunks flying up.

"You don't have to aim," Ita said, activating Susanoo even further until its armor covered it, "the gravity will pull our attacks straight to the center. Every jutsu has a weakness!"

Susanno lifted its two right hands and created a shuriken-like rosary in its hands. Bee quickly transformed into the Eight Tails and opened his mouth to create the Bijuu Bomb. I followed suit and generated my chakra cloak and lifted my hands above my head. My tails all pointed towards my hands and began to generate a mass of glowing chakra which looked similar to a Rasengan. Saya sighed heavily and held her hands out, summoning a ball of fire in each. Finally, Naruto generated a Rasenshuriken and readied himself to throw it.

"Yasaka Beads!" Itachi called out as he relased his attack, throwing the rosary at top speeds.

"Bijuu Bomb!" Bee cried.

"Light Release: Nine Phantom Dragons!" I growled as I released my attack, nine glowing dragons spun out of the orb in my hand, ready to strike its enemy.

"Fire Style: Pheonix Flight!" Saya cried as she released her signature attack. She threw the flames in her hand as it melded with my dragons, adding speed to my attack.

"Wind style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto roared as the Rasenshuriken spun out of his hand, swiftly flying up to meet with the rest of our attacks. They flew straight towards the orb, momentarily disappearing before the sphere exploded with such intensity, we were all engulfed in light and blown back to the ground so hard, that Saya's arm had to regenerate once she sat up, recovering from the shock wave.

As I sat up, I watched as Itachi struck Nagato with the Totsuka blade, sealing Nagato away after he had said his final words of encouragement to Naruto. When it was all said and done, and after a minor argument with Naruto, Ita resolved to put a stop to the Edo Tensei himself.

He turned to leave just as I mustered up the courage to say, "So this is it?"

Ita looked back at me sadly as he sighed, but didn't say anything. He then lifted his arm and the crow landed on it. Ita used the Amaterasu to destroy the crow, Shisui's eye with it.

"But why?" Naruto and Saya both shrieked.

"Shisui's eye won't reactivate for another decade," Ita explained, "so you won't be able to use it on Sasuke. Besides, you possess something greater than this eye, you share Shisui's feelings. That's something he really wanted to pass down. You don't need his eye anymore, as you are now, you can stop Sasuke without something like this."

Naruto took a step forward, sorrow filling his blue eyes, "but you can face Sasuke now! You can—"

"No," Ita said, "I tried to do everything myself and I failed. This time…I think I'll leave the matter to my friends."

Bee smiled and said, "You're not just a powerful shinobi…"

I frowned and looked away as Ita turned his back towards me. There was nothing more for us to say anymore. But then Saya stopped him and said, "you know, the least you could do is let your girlfriend go with you."

Ita paused and glanced back at me, his eyes wide. I looked down at Saya in shock, but she looked up to me and smiled, "and the least I can do is make amends with my best friend. We'll help you end the Edo Tensei."

"What?" I asked in awe.

Naruto smiled and patted me on the shoulder as he said, "Yeah! You should got with Itachi!"

"But Ari, I don't want you to get hurt. This battle will be dangerous," Itachi said, "and I don't want you to have to see me die again."

"Then we'll take you to where you need to go," Saya placed her hands on her hips, "and then we'll face off the other asshole causing problems around here."

"Guys, it's fine," I said looking to the ground, "Itachi is capable of handling this himself…and Naruto's more likely to run into Madara and he needs my help and—"

"Ari!" Naruto groaned, "I can handle myself now! And you at least deserve to spend time with Itachi, especially after all you've been through! And Itachi, you just said that you can't do everything all by yourself, so at least accept her and Saya's help!"

Ita looked from Naruto to Saya to me and back. He sighed heavily, but then managed a smile and held out his hand. "Ariala Uzumaki, would you do me the honors of accompanying me on one last mission? For old time's sake?"

I trembled as I stared at Itachi, trying hard to maintain my composure. I closed my eyes and allowed the tears to fall and I whimpered as I wrapped my arms around Ita, crying. I couldn't hold it in anymore, I just needed to cry. I just needed to hold Itachi in my arms…just one last time…

"Ari…" Naruto muttered as he watched me. I felt like a complete idiot falling apart in front of the boy, but I didn't have the strength to care anymore. "Ari I had no idea…"

"It's alright," Itachi hushed, "I'm here."

"You smell like rotten flesh," I spat through my tears. He didn't actually smell that bad, but part of me had grown angry at him for dying and I had to say something. I then pulled out of the hug and glared at him before I snapped, "and don't think this means that I've forgiven you for dying on me! Or for not telling me about your heart condition to begin with!"

At that, Ita broke out into a light laughter. A laugh which I had longed to hear for so long. "I'll try to remember that," he said.

"Naruto," I said, wiping my eyes, I turned to the boy and said, "I'll meet up with you as soon as I'm done."

"Take your time!" Naruto smiled, giving me a thumbs up.

I nodded as Itachi added, "Killer Bee, take care of Naruto."

"Sure thing!" Bee said. And with that, Ita, Saya, and I took off to find the controller of the Edo Tensei.

We ran through the trees and I noticed that we were traveling in the general direction of Konoha. I couldn't help but get this nagging feeling in the back of my mind. If we were going to pass the village…should I even bother to…?

"Ita," I said, coming to an abrupt halt. Itachi and Saya both stopped and spun to face me. I sighed heavily and said, "if we're going towards Konoha…do you want to see Hana?"

Itachi stiffened and looked away, "I…Ari you know I can't…"

"She knows you're alive…er…kind of alive," I stated, "she came downstairs one morning and out of the blue told me that you were going to come back for a little bit. I don't know if she's just going through denial or what, but when you're the child of a Tailed Beast, you learn to trust your instincts, even if they are just hunches."

Ita shifted around uncomfortably. I felt bad for bringing the topic up. He obviously wanted to see her, but he wasn't sure if he should. "Will she be alright? I won't end up hurting her more, will I?"

"She's a resilient girl," I said, "if I can handle seeing you, I know she will be just fine."

Sighing, Itachi gave into his emotions and we began traveling in the direction of Konoha.

* * *

**Saya**

She kept her trap shut, but she still couldn't believe this. Itachi had destroyed the clan, Ari was the daughter of the Kyuubi, and the two got _married_? Well, they were at least together and they had a kid. This was just unbelievable.

Although they didn't say it, Saya had a feeling that their relationship was secret, and that Itachi was living as a criminal for his deeds against the Uchiha. But she didn't get it, if Itachi had been acting on orders from the Leaf…why was the Leaf treating him like a criminal?

It was late at night when they reached the village and Saya had to take a step back in awe. Konoha looked completely different, and several outlying buildings were under construction.

"This is…" Itachi began but he didn't finish.

"The layout of the village has changed completely," Ari explained, "when Pein attacked, he completely obliterated the village. Thanks to Tsunade and Naruto, few lives were taken in the rampage. A man who is an incomplete clone of my uncle Hashirama used his Wood Style Ninjutsu to quickly rebuild the majority of the buildings. Stay close to me and I will take you to Hana."

Saya frowned, watching her friend. Ari walked stiffly, as if she were a mother trying to stay strong in a difficult situation without showing her fears or her sorrows. Saya looked up at her cousin, several years older than when she last saw him, he had a stoic expression on his face and he watched Ari sadly. What had the years done to them to make them both so sad and so hardened? Ari could once tell Saya anything. She was once a loud mouthed firecracker not afraid to speak her mind. Itachi was once a carefree and gentle spirit so full of kindness. The best friend and the cousin Saya once knew were still there, but they were tucked away deep within the adults which now held in almost all of their emotions. Sighing heavily, Saya felt incredibly bad for the two. How cruel this world could be sometimes…

They approached the back of a house and Ari peered into the kitchen window. All of the lights were out and the residents of the home were asleep. Ari then motioned for Itachi and Saya to follow her as she leapt to the windowsill of the second floor and pried the window open, then crawled in. Itachi followed suit and then helped Saya inside.

"Oh my…" Saya whispered in awe, staring at the sleeping little girl who occupied the room they stood in. She looked just like Ari…her face was rounder and her hair was lighter and silkier than Ari's but Saya found it difficult to believe that she was actually adopted. She could have easily passed as Ari's and Itachi's daughter!

Ari sat down on the bed and gently shook the girl awake. "Hana, dear," Ari said gently.

The girl opened her eyes to reveal tired, but beautiful violet irises as she looked up. Next to her, Saya felt Itachi stiffen as he covered his mouth. He let out a small gasp and he closed his eyes, as if he were trying hard not to cry. Saya frowned, she had never seen her cousin so upset before.

"Mommy? I thought you were out on that mission," Hana said sleepily.

Ari smiled sadly as she kissed Hana on the forehead and said, "I was, but I came back to check on you. We can't stay for long, but someone is here to see you…"

Ari leaned back a little so Hana could see Itachi. The girl's eyes widened and she rubbed them gently as if she thought she was dreaming. Hesitantly, Itachi took a step towards Hana and lifted his arms slightly.

"H-Hi, sweetie," Itachi choked out.

"Daddy!" Hana whispered, a huge smile spreading across her face. She sat up in bed and held her arms out for a hug. Ari stepped out of the way and allowed Itachi to sit down as he pulled his little girl into a tight embrace and allowed the tears to fall from his eyes.

"I've missed you so much…you've gotten so big too!" Itachi whimpered. Saya's jaw dropped. She hadn't seen Itachi cry before. At all.

"I told Mommy that you were coming back, but she didn't believe me," Hana explained, sitting herself down on his lap.

Itachi frowned, fighting the sobs as he explained, "well, I'm not staying for long. The bad guy brought back people like me who have died before. I escaped from his control, but now I have to stop the bad guy. But when I do, I'm going to go away again."

"No you won't," Hana shook her head, hugging Itachi's neck. Ari quickly covered her mouth and bent over slightly as she turned her head away. She let out a squeak as tears began to stream down her face. Saya stared at Ari in shock and tried to place a comforting hand on Ari, but her touch only made her friend tremble and inhale sharply as she fought to control her own sobs.

"Hana," Itachi said with a shaky voice, "I love you so much, but I have to go. I died, and as much as I want to stay here with you, I have to move on, but I'll still protect you."

"I know," Hana nodded. She then held up a flower-shaped locket around her neck and said, "I can feel you protecting me and Mommy like when you saved us from Pein. But I'm telling you, Daddy, you'll be able to come back, I just know it."

"Oh, my sweet flower," was all Itachi could say as he pulled her into a tight hug. They shared a long embrace before Itachi laid Hana back down and pulled the covers up to her chin, "I have to go now, but you be a good girl. I'll always be here with you, alright?"

Hana nodded and giggled as he kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Daddy," she said, "I'll see you soon."

"I love you," was all Itachi could say. Ari then composed herself long enough to give Hana another kiss goodnight before they left. They walked out of the village in silence and prepared to make camp, the three not saying a word. Saya glanced up at Ari occasionally, but regretted doing so each time as she found Ari struggling to keep from sobbing her eyes out.

"Ari, I'm really worried about her," Itachi said suddenly. As dense as he was, he spoke without realizing what sort of mess his lover was, "she thinks I'm going to come back…that's not healthy, is it?"

And at that, Ari finally broke down. She collapsed to her knees and held herself as she broke out into loud sobs, unable to control herself. Startled, Itachi ran to Ari's side and held her shoulders, trying to pull her into an embrace. Embarrassed, Ari covered her face with her hands as she shook her head continuously, apologizing over and over again, but that only made her cry harder.

"Ari…" Itachi said tearing up, "I am so sorry…"

The two held each other close and Saya backed away slightly, feeling as if she was intruding on a private moment. But as Saya watched the two, she found it incredibly hard to believe that Itachi was just going to go away and die, leaving Ari and Hana alone forever. There was just something wrong about that. And not just wrong, but Saya couldn't help but wonder if Hana was right about what she said.

"I hate to interrupt but…is Hana a…psychic?" Saya asked out of the blue. Ari stiffened and looked up at Saya in confusion.

Rubbing the tears out of her eyes, Ari asked, "What?"

"Well, you made a comment earlier about how half-bijuu learn to trust their hunches…and you said she predicted that Itachi would come back before you even knew about the Edo Tensei…" Saya noted.

Ari stood abruptly and dusted herself off. She glared at Saya and said in a low voice, "Don't try to get my hopes up, Saya. People just don't come back to life after dying."

"Well, Itachi and I have both just proved that wrong," Saya crossed her arms, "and I'm not trying to get your hopes up, I was just asking a question. Hana seemed pretty sure about what she was talking about back there. So is she psychic?"

"Ari is," Itachi stated still kneeling on the ground, "she doesn't predict the future but she uses telepathy."

Saya's eyes widened as she glared at Ari in disbelief, "Since when?"

"Since I was born," Ari shrugged.

"And you didn't tell me?" Saya sounded outraged.

"I never used it until I was in ANBU and I hardly went on missions with you anyway!" Ari snapped back, "And what's your point with all of this?"

"My point is," Saya began, "I don't think you should write off Hana's comments as outright denial. Try to keep an open mind, the both of you."

Ari scoffed and looked away, "you're acting like a kid again…"

"Well, maybe that's a good thing!" Saya snapped back, "you guys have grown up, but it sounds like you've all but lost your hope in the process! Just…try to enjoy your time together and stop being so depressed. We'll get through this, we're all practically family, right?"

Ari glared back at Saya but sighed, trying hard to force down a smile. She then walked over and gave Saya a hug, "I've missed your pep talks, you know that?"

"That's probably because you haven't had any since me," Saya grinned arrogantly, "at least no good pep talks…"

After that, Saya allowed Ari and Itachi some time alone for the night. The cuddled, holding hands, but didn't say anything. Though by the way they looked at each other occasionally, Saya had a feeling that they were communicating through Ari's mind tricks which she had heard about. Saya drifted off to sleep that night thinking about what that little girl had said.

And somehow, thinking of how impossible it seemed for Itachi to just be separated from his wife and daughter for eternity, Saya had a feeling that the end of the Edo Tensei wouldn't mean the end of Itachi Uchiha.


	22. Chapter 21: My Daughter and My Father

Well hello there, everybody! We're about to hit the big meat of our story! Woo! I'm so excited! So, I am going to apologize as the next few chapters are going to be a little shorter (and I also apologize if it seems like I've rushed through the plot of Naruto...but honestly, the main events in Ari's story really only involve Itachi and the war...so...I figured you would rather I NOT repeat myself with the googoo eyes, the daily chores of Ari and Ita as they bicker like an old couple occasionally, and constant crying and whining on Ari's part to the point where she sounds like Sakura...*shivers*...) But anyway, I'm thinking of possibly writing a sequel to this, only I would focus on Hana and her growing up. But I dunno...the sequel might not come until...a lot later if I do, but comment in a review if you want more from me! I'm not opposed to doing cute and slightly ridiculous oneshots with my characters. After all, there are some fluffy little details between Ari and Ita and later on, Hana that I left out for the purpose of the actual plot, and I can always plug those in for fun if you all want :)

Also...any artist out there who is looking for something to do to kill time...I'm not the best artist myself and I was wondering if anyone was interested in doing a drawing of Ari, be it a character sketch or a scene from Broken Love thus far. I would make this a commission or offer a prize for whoever does but...I'm a broke almost college student and just a person behind the computer screen so I sadly can't offer anything up...:( But if you are willing to draw something for me, and you want me to do something via writing or some form of special recognition (I do have a friend who is an art major...she has some nifty sources), just let me know what you'll draw for. And if you're just a genuinely nice person and conjur something up, let me know too! Just post the link of your artwork in a review and I will love you forever! And if you either can't draw or don't want to, I completely understand! That's why I'm writing this shameless request after all! XD

Well anyway, enough of my ramblings,

ENJOI

* * *

**Hana**

Kurenai ran into the room for the third time that night upon hearing the child's screams.

"Hana! What's wrong?" she asked.

"They're coming! You have to get away!" Hana cried out, "I'm not safe anymore!"

"Of course you're safe, Hana! I'll protect you," Kurenai assured, "and who's coming? Was it a bad dream?"

"No! You don't get it!" Hana sobbed, "I'm not safe to be with anymore! The-the bad man with the scary eyes and the lady with the red hair! They found me!"

"Shh, it's alright, it was just a bad dream," Kurenai comforted, stroking Hana's hair. The little girl glared at her caretaker. Did she not get what Hana was trying to say?

"He has eyes like Daddy, but he's a bad bad man! And he has a lady with red hair! They're _coming_ and you have to get away!" Hana pleaded, not sure how to make herself any clearer.

"Hana, it was just a bad dream," Kurenai repeated with an urgent tone in her voice, "no one is coming for you."

All but given up, Hana shook her head, fighting the tears. She lied back down in bed and tried to close her eyes, her little body shaking. Why would no one believe her? Hana was right about Daddy coming back, wasn't she? Despite her fears, Hana eventually drifted back off to sleep. However, when she opened her eyes again, she found the ice blue eyes of her mother staring down at her.

"Mommy?" Hana asked, confused as she rubbed her eyes. For an important mission, Mommy had lots of time to visit…

But as Hana sat up to turn on the light, she froze in shock as she stared at the woman before her. The whites of her eyes had turned black like Daddy's did, but her pupils were missing and her skin was gray. She slumped over slightly as if she were being held up by puppet strings. Hana let out a shriek before the red hair framing the woman's face flashed in front of her as the corpse of Chinatsu Uzumaki struck her unconscious.

* * *

**Ari**

I felt a horrible chill run up my spine. What was a light drizzle had become a downpour and we were all drenched, wading through the mud.

"Ugh, I feel disgusting," Saya groaned. I nodded but didn't say anything. I really hated the Land of Grass. It was more like the Land of Swamps in the spring.

"How much farther is this hideout?" I asked Ita.

Staring straight ahead, he responded, "Not too far. I'd say about a half a day's journey before we part ways."

"Oh," I said stiffly, regretting feeling the need to ask. As if he sensed my hesitance, Ita grasped hold of my hand and squeezed it tightly. I intertwined my fingers around his, enjoying his touch for as long as I could.

"Can we take a break? I'm starved," Saya asked, stretching her arms up. I rolled my eyes. Of the three of us, I was the only one living and _she_ was hungry? Where was the logic in this?

Sighing, I agreed to the break and we found a small tea shop at the outskirts of the grass village. Ita and Saya both put the hoods of their cloaks up to hid their eyes, not wanting to cause trouble if someone found out that they were the dead come back to life. Being the gentleman he was, Ita pulled out a chair for Saya and I both. He helped seat Saya first, and then he pulled a chair out for me. I thanked him and began to sit, but as I grasped the chair, I suddenly felt weak, my fingertips running cold as the worst fear I had ever experienced struck the pit of my stomach.

"Is something wrong?" Itachi asked me, alarmed by my sudden loss of color in the face.

"Can you feel that?" I asked in a low voice, "this aura…it's far away but I can feel it from here."

Ita glanced outside the tea shop with a stern expression as he activated his sharingan. Grimacing he said, "let's make this a quick break. Something tells me that we need to stop the Edo Tensei fast."

We quickly ordered chai tea and mitorashi dango, much like we would do when we were younger. I smiled to myself, allowing this break to take me back to the good old days when Ita could practically eat his weight in dango. Usually he would stuff himself to horrible discomfort and collapse later in a food coma, his belly sticking out as he had been stuffed to full.

But Itachi restrained himself and there were no jokes told at the table. I couldn't shake the horrible fear that struck my core. This chakra…I had sensed it only once before.

And it was the night my parents died.

"It's an Uchiha, I'm sure," Saya said, using her sensory abilities to peg out the ominous chakra which battled on in the distance. "But I've never come across this man before…and hold on…I'm sensing the chakra of the five kage…what is this?"

"All five of them?" I asked in disbelief. I know they had joined forces, but for all of them to band together in front of mystery man…then that could only mean one thing.

"It's Madara…" I croaked, my chest hollow.

"Has he not shown himself in battle yet?" Itachi asked confused.

I shook my head as I came to a horrible realization, "No, Ita, you don't understand. The masked man…_he's_ not Madara!"

"So that means," Ita gulped, "oh man, we're in trouble…"

Horror washing over the three of us, we took off heading straight towards where this hideout supposedly was.

"It's faint, but I'm barely able to pick up Orochimaru's chakra," Saya said, "at least I think it's Orochimaru…that snake has up a barrier!"

"But Orochimaru was killed," Itachi noted, narrowing his eyes.

"Which means that it's Kabuto controlling the Edo Tensei," I explained, "my team had a run-in with him when we were searching for you and Sasuke. He had transplanted some of Orochimaru's cells to get stronger."

Ita narrowed his eyes, "then this should be an easy fight. Ari, Saya, you two start looking for the masked man and take him out. He's the one who started this war and only in killing him will we end it."

"What about you?" I asked, panic striking me. It was time to say goodbye already? "And what about the real Madara?"

"Madara will be taken out once the Edo Tensei ends. And if this is Kabuto, and what you say is true, I have the perfect jutsu to use against him."

I grimaced. I had a bad feeling about Madara…if his chakra was _this_ powerful, then I wondered if stopping the Edo Tensei could really do that much good.

"We've got incoming!" Saya warned, skidding to a stop. I grabbed hold of Saya and Itachi's shoulders, masking all three of our chakras and we leapt behind a tree. Peering out from out hiding spot, I watched as the masked man and seven of the jinchuuriki ran by.

"Dammit," I cursed under my breath, "that asshole certainly has perfect timing…"

"Ari, Saya, go," Ita said. Saya tugged on my hand and tried to pull me forward, ready to follow orders. I was a little hesitant and looked back at Ita, not wanting to let go of his hand. He locked eyes with me and frowned, but then pulled me into a tight embrace. "You shouldn't morn for someone who is already dead, you know…"

"Oh shut up," I groaned, pursing my lips. I was too numbed to cry anymore. I knew what I had to do, emotions couldn't get in the way anymore.

But then Itachi pulled me away and smiled. He reached up to the collar of his cloak and pulled down on it, exposing his collarbone and his silver necklace which wrapped around it.

I stared in awe, "you still have that? But how?"

"I don't know," Itachi smiled, "when I was revived, I was wearing it. You've always been with me Ari, thank you for that." He then poked my necklace and then lifted his hand to stroke my cheek, "and I will always be with you."

I smiled, holding up my left hand to show off the ring I still wore, "I love you. And be careful."

"Will do. And don't die just yet. Live a long life," Itachi said.

And with that, we turned to leave our separate ways. No hesitation, no morning. We couldn't afford to waste that kind of time. The masked man, Tobi, stood before me and I had to protect this world. I had to protect _my _world: Naruto and Hana.

"We could take them now," Saya offered in a low voice as we ran, "they haven't noticed us yet…"

"And we're going to keep it that way," I said, grasping hold of her hand, "I don't want them noticing us, not just yet. I want to see where they're going."

We followed them for hours without breaking, keeping at least a distance of a hundred yards, our chakra masked the entire time. But then I saw that little yellow glow, and before I knew it, Naruto rammed into Tobi's forehead, knocking both of them back in opposite directions. I brought Saya to a halt and we watched the situation from afar. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but whatever Tobi had said really riled Naruto. But then to my surprise, each of the revived jinchuuriki sprouted a tail.

"What?" Saya asked in shock, "they all have a tailed beast sealed inside."

"But they all had the tailed beasts ripped out of them," I noted, "did Tobi reseal them inside of their jinchuuriki?"

"Probably, the chakra from the tailed beasts feels different from the chakra coming from Hachibi and Kyuubi," Saya said, "Ari, I have a bad feeling about this…"

"I've _had_ a bad feeling about this," I groaned. At that moment, the revived jinchuuriki began to attack Naruto and Bee, causing the two to retreat in a panic. "Let's go!" I ordered. We snuck up from behind and Saya pounced forward, blocking one of Yugito's constant attacks against Naruto. I came from above and kicked Tobi hard in the face, causing him to crash to the ground. But he barely managed to slip through me with his teleportation jutsu or whatever it was, minimalizing the damage from my kick.

"Oh? I have the half breed too? This is my lucky day," Tobi noted.

"Oh shut your mouth!" I spat back at him, "you're nothing more than an imposter who can be easily defeated, so I'd watch yourself if I were you."

"An imposter, you say?" Tobi chuckled, "well, can you defeat your entire family?"

I looked back to see all of the jinchuuriki power up into their cloaked forms. Bee had transformed fully into Uncle G and Naruto and Saya sat atop the octopus's head, all of them staring blankly at their opponents.

"Oh shit…" I managed, powering up myself as I unleashed my Bijuu Mode. I raced to the group's side, trying to help them fend off the Bijuu as best at I could, but the Five-Tails transformed and stabbed Bee with his horns. Saya was struck by the Two-Tails who blew a hole through her chest. Saya fell to the ground, attempting to regenerate as the Three- and Four-Tails both went at it with her. In the chaos, Tobi came from out of nowhere and struck me upside the head, knocking me to the ground. I scrambled to my feet, managing to dodge his second attack, but he didn't waste time with me. He went straight to Naruto.

Naruto screamed out and attempted to fight off Tobi, but it was useless if you couldn't touch him. Tobi pinned Naruto to the ground, and went to finish the boy off, "You're all jinchuuriki and half-breeds, but I guess the odds are against you, even with a sharingan on your side. If I touch you, I win."

"Shit!" Naruto grimaced. I struggled to my feet, racing to Naruto's side. But thankfully, Kakashi and Gai appeared and attacked Tobi, causing the masked man to leap off of Naruto and retreat.

"Hmph. You've received help," Tobi noted, "but two more makes no difference. Not with my eyes."

Saya managed to free herself from the two Bijuu which attacked her and she leapt to my side, all of us readying ourselves for the next attack.

"Let's not forget that we've added another sharingan into the mix," Kakashi warned.

"And Konoha's Blue Beast is here as well," Gai stated, "we shouldn't be ones that are underestimated so easily.

"The Jinchuuriki!" Naruto spat out, trying to catch his breath and speak at the same time, "Their Rinnegans are connected to their sharingan! Their left and right eyes! And they have a rod in their left breast and they-!"

"Calm down," Gai interrupted, "I can't understand what you're saying.

But Kakashi knew Naruto well enough that he was able to interpret the boy's words, "Their right eyes are sharingan and the left rinnegan. They have rods in their left breast just like Pein, I see…"

"It's amazing that you could understand all that," Gai groaned.

"Watch yourselves!" I warned as the Five-Tails came charging at us again.

"Five tails…" Kakashi noted, "Then this is…?"

"Uncle Kokuo," I answered, "careful, he uses his momentum to power all his chakra into charged attacks!" But as Kokuo drew closer, he started veering more towards Uncle G…or Tobi more specifically. In response, Tobi unleased a chakra chain from his hand and wrapped it around Kokuo's neck, choking him and pulling him to the ground. I gasped as my uncle let out a pained cry.

"_Agh!"_ I heard him cry out. However, by the responses (or lack thereof) from my comrades, it seemed as though only Bee, Naruto, and I could hear him, _"I can't let myself be controlled…by him…!"_

"Uncle!" I called out in shock, resisting the urge to try and help him. But he was beyond my reach as long as Tobi controlled him.

The Five-Tails opened his eyes and glanced up at me, utter confusion written on the beast's face, _"A-Ariala? You're…?"_ But Kokuo didn't get to finish as he was suppressed back into his jinchuuriki's body.

"Why did he stop the Bijuu's power?" Gai asked, confused.

"Perhaps he doesn't have complete control over them," Kakashi noted.

"They're too strong-willed to be controlled completely," I stated, "Tobi can't afford to let anyone else break through their seal if he wants to maintain the upper hand in this battle. We're too stubborn."

"So that's where that comes from," Kakashi joked.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm also an Uzumaki. Don't forget that." I then leapt back to stand by Naruto, both of us in front of the Hachibi.

"_Naruto! Ari! Did you hear that?_" Uncle G asked.

"…I did…" Naruto answered.

"_That was the Five-Tails' voice,"_ the Eight-Tails explained, _"We Bijuu have feelings too. It pisses me off to see them treated that way…"_

"_I know,"_ I groaned, _"This really sucks, I hate seeing my family tortured like this."_

But then of course, Dad had to open his big mouth as he spat, _"You both say that now? The shinobi have always used us as pets! Only you and your brat Bee are different, Hachibi!"_

"Are you really going to start this, Dad?" I snapped back at him, entering part of myself into Naruto's seal. I stood by Naruto, glaring up at my father. Uncle G appeared as well and made an attempt to coax my father.

"I wonder about that, Kyuubi," Uncle G said, "I know that you—"

"Just shut up!" Dad snapped back, "Considering the number of tails you have, you're the strongest one after me, now hurry up and finish this! And Ari! You're my daughter, aren't you? You're stronger than this! I'm going to bed…I'm tired of watching this eye sore of a battle…"

"If you're tired of watching this, how about you get off your ass and do something useful for once, you lazy bum!" I snapped at my father, "quit running your mouth and walk the walk, will ya?"

"I've had just about enough of your attitude for one day, young lady!" Dad roared back at me.

"And I've had just about enough of you for one lifetime! Are you my father or aren't you? Come on!" I growled back, baring my teeth at him.

"Kyuubi," Uncle G said, redirecting the argument, "Ari is right. And you shouldn't judge one's strength by the number of Tails. No wonder Shukaku resented you—"

"He resented me because that drunken bastard doesn't know when to admit he's out of a woman's league," my father snapped back.

"_Dad!_" I barked, my face flushing.

In response, Dad closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, blocking us out from communicating with him.

"Kyuubi! Are you listening to me?" Uncle Gyuuki asked angrily, "stop pretending to sleep, I'm not buying it!"

"Oh give it a rest, Uncle," I groaned, "he's not going to listen anyway…not like he can listen to his own _daughter_…or his wife for that matter…"

At that, Dad's ear twitched but her otherwise continued to "slumber". Ugh, my father could be a royal pain in the ass sometimes.

We continued to fight, slowly gaining the upper hand in the battle. Thanks to Kakashi and Saya's sharingan, we were able to see through the majority of incoming attacks.

"Hm, you're much better than expected," Tobi noted, "I'll try to be more serious…this time I'll give you two!"

I paused long enough to stare in horror as the six-tails and the four-tails both transformed, letting lose their rage. The chakra emitted from their bodies was so powerful that we were all blown back.

"Dammit!" I cried out. How were we supposed to win this? Naruto stood hastily and charged for an attack. Son Gokuu, the Four-Tails began bounding towards us. Oh crap… "Naruto! Hold on! You've used up too much chakra!" I tried to warn, chasing after him. But alas, the brat ignored me. As always.

"_Ari, hold on,_" Uncle Gyuuki said, "_Have you noticed yet? With the number of clones Naruto has made and the chakra he's used, he should be on the verge of death right now if the Kyuubi was siphoning his chakra."_

"_Which means…"_ I began. Did Dad…stop taking Naruto's chakra away? Ever since Naruto took control of his chakra, each ounce of power that Naruto borrowed from the Kyuubi, my father would take back from the boy. But if Naruto was still going then… _"Dad? Why aren't you taking Naruto's chakra anymore?"_

My father was silent, ignoring me.

"_Kyuubi, I don't know what happened between you and Naruto but…_" Gyuuki began, but Son Gokuu grasped hold of one of his tails and threw him, keeping my uncle from finishing. Naruto in return was thrust up into the air, right above the ape's mouth. Son Gokuu then opened his mouth, but Naruto managed to block the beast from chomping down on him as the boy struggled for dear life.

"Naruto!" I called out, rushing to his aid but with no idea of how to save him.

"_Ari…_" I heard my father's voice say in my ear. I skidded to a stop, confused. And then in a solemn voice Dad said, _"Please forgive me…"_

* * *

**Madara**

This was two easy. Like swatting flies. He hated the fact that some cretin revived him with the Impure World Resurrection. What had happened to Nagato? It didn't matter though, as long as he had been revived with the majority of his power, he would be fine, even if the Edo Tensei was broken.

And to find out that not only Ariala had survived, but another half-breed had been born as well? They would be excellent fuel for the Juubi. But then what had happened to Chinatsu? She disappeared along with Ariala after the battle against Hashirama once Mito sealed the Kyuubi inside herself. Though to find out that Ariala was living as a young woman gave Madara a feeling that Chinatsu sacrificed herself to send her child to another time.

And how perfect the time it was.

"What do you plan to do with the half-breeds? I'm curious," Kabuto stated.

"That is none of your concern," Madara said, "but our plan involved their power. The child shouldn't be a problem, though I have a feeling Ariala will not come so easily. Not a big deal of course, but she is stubborn like her mother."

"Well, I have yet to revive her completely, but I also hold Chinatsu Uzumaki," Kabuto explained, "she could easily be used as bait."

"Bring her forth," Madara ordered. He glanced down at the Kage as their jaws dropped to see yet another coffin raised from the ground. The door dropped to show Chinatsu standing limply, her skin gray as she had not regained her consciousness. The coffin disappeared and Kabuto moved to place a tag in the back of the woman's head. "Don't awaken her yet," Madara ordered, "hand me the tag. She can move about just fine without consciousness, correct?"

"Yes, but why not yet? Her powers won't be completely restored until I place the tag on her," Kabuto explained.

"I need her to do some capturing for me," Madara explained, "her full strength is not required just yet. If she captures the young half-breed and we use both of them as bait, Ariala will not waste our time."

"Oh, good point," Kabuto said. He then weaved a hand seal and Chinatsu disappeared to go find the child. Madara took the tag from Kabuto, stowing it in a safe place. This way, should the Edo Tensei end, Chinatsu will not disappear with it as her soul is not fully sealed into her new body.

This was too easy…

* * *

**Kurama**

He watched as Naruto struggled to stay out of the Four-Tails mouth. Ari panicked and attempted to free Naruto, but she was too small and even with her chakra cloak she couldn't make a big enough impact with her attacks to allow the monkey to let go. The Eight-Tails grasped hold of the Four-Tails, trying to force it into releasing Naruto, but that didn't work either.

Then the Eight-Tails reached out to him again, _"Kyuubi, I understand that you lent some of your power to Naruto when you fought Madara…we really wouldn't mind if you would lend us that power again!"_

"_I'm not like you, Hachibi," _Kurama snapped, _"I don't wag my tails to Jinchuuriki as easily as you do."_ He then closed his eyes and growled, thinking back to the day it all went wrong. Chinatsu had gotten Ari out of the way as he shifted from his human form to what he really was, all nine of his tails swirling behind him as he let out a furious roar.

"_Nine-Tails,"_ Madara had said, "_You are merely a momentary life, a temporary existence coalesced with energy…energy that was once a single ultimate form! An unstable force lacking in intelligence or sapience, you require a guide to show you purpose. That guide is the Uchiha! The tailed beasts are slaves to those with blessed eyes. So now…obey!"_

After that, Kurama had lost consciousness as he was controlled by Madara's sharingan. When he awoke again, the First Hokage Hashirama stood before him, bloodied and beaten, but his Mokuton trapped Kurama, keeping him from moving as he stated, "_Nine-Tails, you're power is too great. I cannot let you roam free any longer, forgive me!"_

And not long after that, Mito sealed Kurama inside of her, glaring at him as she blamed him for the loss of her sister and stated, "_If you use your power, only hatred will come from it. Stay tranquil deep inside of me."_

And then years later, Kurama stared down a young Kushina Uzumaki just before he was transferred to her. Kushina had glared at him begrudgingly and said, _"Neither of us have any sort of luck, do we? You keep the world at bay, but I keep _you_ at bay…"_

Kurama gritted his teeth and he let out a growl. No matter how they phrased it, humans always say the same thing…

But there was one who was different.

She was a small red-haired woman with striking blue eyes. She fought fiercely, gifted with psychic abilities and the prominent abilities of the Uzumaki clan. She had been ordered by her father, the leader of the clan at the time, to put an end to Kurama's rampages across the land. Kurama himself was bitter at the time, never able to find peace in this hellish world the old Sage had left him and his siblings to rot in. But this woman didn't fight him. At least not with effort. She instead dropped her sealing scroll on the ground and leapt onto the Kyuubi's head. She smiled gently at the Bijuu and said, "_Forgive me, Kyuubi. I was told to capture you…but you're not an evil spirit as they say, are you? No, you're a gentle spirit, feared by mankind only because you are different. We're a lot alike you know…I wonder what it would take to make you let go of all that hatred that has built up from years of scorn and isolation you faced."_

She was the only one who saw Kurama differently. She was the only human who ever learned his true name. After that battle, Chinatsu would search for Kurama frequently, always able to find him. And after a while, Kurama almost wanted to be found. She would sit atop his head and smile kindly to him, despite the countless times he would thrash around and try to swat her away. But then one day, her kindness finally got to him.

Chinatsu searched the terrain, struggling to make out the large form of the fox. Had something happened to him? She wondered. But the reason she couldn't find him was because, as Kurama swallowed his pride, he shrunk down to a more human form, appearing as a man with long course hair pulled back into a high ponytail, an angular face, and striking red eyes.

"Chinatsu," he said, his heart pounding. How would she react to this pathetic form of his?

Chinatsu in turn, jumped and stared at Kurama in shock. She blinked a few times, recognizing the fox within the man, "K-Kyuubi? My! You're…quite handsome as a human!"

Trying to hide the excess amount of blood that rushed into his cheeks, Kurama followed Chinatsu that day, trying to understand just what it was that drew the woman to him. And what drew him to her for that matter. They kept up this subtle dance around each other for days and months, curiosity turning to attraction, and attraction to affection. Chinatsu attempted to dissolve Kurama's hatred, showing him the beauty the world had to offer, the kindness that humans were capable of, but the only thing that could ease the bottomless pit of rage Kurama felt deep within was standing in the woman's presence.

Then finally one day, they sat on a riverbank when Kurama finally said, "Chinatsu?"

"Yes, Kyuubi?" Chinatsu said, her beautiful eyes glistening.

Gulping hard, he responded, "It's actually Kurama…"

"Kurama?" Chinatsu repeated. She then looked down and mouthed out the name a couple of times before looking back with a bright smile as she said, "I love it."

Kurama gasped as he stared at her with wide eyes. What was this feeling within him? They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment before finally, they leaned in gently towards each other.

He didn't know it then, but he had fallen in love with the woman.

But now she was gone, and there was no other being like Chinatsu. All other humans were the same wretched beings so obsessed with power and hungry for control. Kurama growled as he thought back to the day Kurama had almost been freed.

"_Dammit, now this brat?"_ Kurama cursed angrily when he stared down at the infant. He looked over to find that his four-year old daughter was fighting to get into the barrier as she screamed. But Kurama watched he two grow up, and in the end…even those two…

"_Hey NineTails!"_ Naruto's voice echoed in his head, a memory flashing in his mind suddenly, _"I wanna…I wanna take away some of that hate you hold some day!"_

Kurama opened an eye and watched as Naruto was swallowed by the Four-Tails. Kurama sighed heavily, thinking back to conversations Ari had had with Naruto when he was a child.

"_Everyone hates me!"_ Naruto would usually say as he cried, _"And I hate them!"_

"_Oh Naruto,_" Ari would wipe the boys tears, _"If everyone hates you, then who am I? And doesn't it take too much energy to hate? Don't you grow tired?"_

"_Then what am I supposed to do? I can't like them, they treat me like crap!"_

"_I know…but that's why you have to show them what a great person you are. And I'll love and support you all the way. I'll help you get rid of that hatred in your heart, Naruto. Instead, I want to fill your heart with love."_

As Naruto was swallowed, Kurama could hear Ariala scream out, "NARUTO!" in a panic.

Perhaps there were others like Chinatsu after all…

* * *

**Ari**

"DAMMIT!" I shrieked releasing my chakra chains. If I could just make Uncle Son open his big mouth…

But then of course, Tobi had to use his own chakra chains generated from the rod in the beast's neck and attempt to seal the beast away. I then wrapped my chains around Tobi's attempting to keep the masked man from sealing Uncle Son, with Naruto and Dad, away.

And being my blonde-haired boy, Naruto came up with a pretty ingenious plan of escape. And it involved barfing. Of course. Suddenly, Son's stomach and cheeks ballooned out and was forced to vomit out several hundred thousand Narutos.

"Atta boy!" I cheered, leaping into the air a little.

"Ari! Help me out! We've got to pull the rod out of Son's neck!" Naruto called out. I nodded and ran to the boy's side, both of us searching for a black rod in his neck.

"You don't know when to give up," Tobi spat angrily. I looked at the chain wrapped around Son's neck as it began to disappear and my eyes followed to the last spot which they glowed. I ran towards it before the chains disappeared completely. As I drew close, I could see the black rod sticking out.

"Over here, Naruto!" I called out.

"Don't touch it! I'll get it!" Naruto asked, heading towards me. He grasped hold of the rod, but chains emerged from it and began to wrap around the boy. "Dammit!" he called out, getting stuck.

"Naruto, let go of it!" I ordered. I released a chain from my hand and wrapped it around the one trapping Naruto but he glared back at me and swatted it away.

"Trust me on this!" he pleaded. My eyes widened, but I took a step back.

"_Hmph, let's see what you're going to do, Naruto…show me that you're worth trusting. If you really want to do something for us, then do what you've always done._" I heard Dad say from within the boy. I raised an eyebrow. Okay, I obviously missed something here…

But then from Son's throat, I heart a clone of Naruto call out an attack as the skin of Son's neck ripple, pushing the rod out. Naruto yelped as he fell to the ground, clasping the rod tightly. He then let go of the rod and created another shadow clone, the two of them smashing it with a Rasengan before the boy fell into Son's hand.

"_Yes! That's the real you!"_ I heard Dad say. I leapt off of Son's shoulder and rejoined Naruto, helping the boy stand.

"You okay?" I asked.

"No! Dammit!" Naruto cried out, fighting frustrated tears off.

"What happened?" I asked in minor alarm. As I did, Son was sucked into the sealing statue Tobi had summoned and Naruto staggered, struggling to stay on his feet.

"You only stopped one and you already look like you're knocking on death's door," Tobi said, "But I don't intend to be stingy here. You and Ariala both have valuable things that belong to me now. And I'm going to take them all."

"Lovely," I groaned.

"Ari! Behind you!" I heard Saya call out. I spun around to see the rest of the tailed beasts transforming, all of which stared angrily down at me.

"This is even better!" I snapped, letting out a low growl. Man…I was the kyuubi's kid, wasn't I? So where was my cool transformation, huh? I groaned, probably not coming. I was half-human still…I didn't have the amount of chakra required to take on a form that huge…and I had a lot of chakra too. Well, had…this battle was taking too much out of me. Out of all of us.

But then, Dad pulled both of us into his cage and warned, "this is bad, no matter how you look at it. And you're both about ready to fall over."

"Just…watch me…" Naruto panted as he tripped and fell to his right. I caught him by the arm, but struggled to stay standing myself.

"I could lend you some of my power you know," Dad began to offer.

"Oh good grief, don't start this shit, Dad!" I groaned, smacking my hand to my face.

"I'm not trying to take over Naruto this time, I swear! Just my chakra, and my chakra alone! Now are you guys going to accept my help or not?" Dad snapped at me with a frown. I narrowed my eyes and gave my father a confused look. Where was this coming from again?

"You know, you're a lot more talkative lately," Naruto noted, cracking a smile, "I'm happy that you want to lend me your power, but first there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Huh?" Dad and I both looked at Naruto, horribly confused.

The boy continued, "Thanks for the help back there with Madara…that really saved me!"

At that, Dad looked absolutely disgusted, "Don't thank me! It's weird! I'd just rather be under your control than Madara's! That's all I was thinking about! And besides, because of this prison I'm in, I could only give you a tiny bit of power. And now I just want to see you fight a little longer!" By this point, Dad was in the middle of a complete crap-shoot as he pulled more excuses out of his ass, "I just need a good way to kill sometimes is all!"

At that, Naruto snapped and shouted, "I was thanking you! Why the hell are you getting mad at me? I don't care if you keep glaring at me, but the least you could do is fix the way you respond! Otherwise—" But Naruto stopped and stared in awe as Dad stuck his fist out of the cage and held it in front of Naruto. My jaw dropped at the sight. Who was this fox and what did he do with my pissed-off, stubborn geezer of my father?

"Meld your chakra with mine," Father instructed.

Naruto allowed a faint smile to cross his lips as he breathed out, "Don't tell me…we're gonna play tug-of-war again…?"

"Idiot, we don't have that time!" Dad snapped. He then grinned and teased, "although I'm a bit bored, so if you want to play I wouldn't mind."

Naruto giggled as the two bumped fists, both of them smiling. Back outside, Naruto stood back on his feet, ready to fight. Gyuuki stared at Naruto in awe, amazed that my father had actually come around. Inside the seal, Naruto lifted his hands, opening the cage with his mind. Dad crouched low to the ground, a wild grin on his face. He was still sealed, but finally he felt free.

"Kurama, let's go!" Naruto called out. Naruto then brought himself to full consciousness outside of the seal as Dad lent him a ton of chakra. I lingered behind and turned to face my father, placing my hands on my hips. Dad looked down on me, his grin falling.

"Can we talk later? You'll get hurt if you just stand around like that," Dad offered.

I narrowed my eyes and spat out, "No. You owe me."

Sighing heavily, Dad's ears flattened and he looked away, "I know…okay, go on."

"What the hell is going on with you?" I barked, "First you try to kill Naruto, heck, you wanted to kill me! Then you practically disown me, and now all the sudden you're best friends with your jinchuuriki? Explain. Please, before I lose what's left of my sanity!"

"Ari, I'm not sure you would understand," Dad heaved a heavy sigh, "I don't understand even. But…I just get a feeling…humans…they are arrogant and selfish creatures, obsessed with taking control of absolutely everything. But your mother was different. There was a unique light to her, a possitive light that attracted everyone who passed by, especially me. And Ari…I'm sorry I never saw this before, but you carry that same light within you, and yours is so much more powerful that you were able to pass it on to Naruto and gave him the strength to purge his own hatred, and help remind me that mine had left me when I met Chinatsu."

"A light," I groaned, "if I'm such a positive light, then how come you were screaming at me back on that island?"

"Because I didn't understand where your choices were coming from," Dad told me as he closed his eyes, "I shunned you because your eyes were opened wider than mine and I could not see the things that you could, even when they were right before my eyes." Dad then lowered his furry hand, gesturing for me to step onto it. I walked into his palm and he lifted me to up so I his eyes could meet mine, "Ari, you're right, I promised your mother that I would not disapprove of your actions even if I could not understand them, but I broke that promise. I did the same to you as Chinatsu's father did to her, and I am so terribly sorry. I don't want to leave you alone in this world, I don't want you to suffer because of your stupid idiot of a father any longer."

"Dad…" I heaved a heavy sigh, the tears stinging my eyes. I closed them and managed a smile, "can you still shift to a human form?"

Dad raised an eyebrow but shrunk down as I asked until he was standing at six-feet tall and on two legs, towering over me, but still much closer to my height. "Why do you want me to-?" Dad started but I cut him off as I threw my arms around him crying.

"I missed you!" I wept, "Welcome back!"

I buried my head into my father's chest, crying happy tears for once. I felt a little ridiculous, wondering if I looked like Hana did whenever she threw her arms around Itachi. I pushed the image away, I didn't want my mournful tears to sour the moment I was having with my father. I had shared too many happy memories with Itachi to let my grief overwhelm me any longer anyway.

"Ariala," Dad muttered as he slowly wrapped his arms around me. He let out a chuckle and said, "a carefree spirit as always. I hate to ruin the moment, but you best open your eyes and guard yourself before you're struck with Matatabi's Bijuu Bomb. She'll never forgive you for being so reckless and setting a bad example for Hana."

I spat out a laugh and dodge Aunt Tabi's attack just in the knick of time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Naruto had transformed, creating golden chakra version of Dad who ran around freely, fighting against the remaining Bijuu. I released my own Bijuu Mode as Saya and Kakashi ran next to me. Unable to hide the determined grin on my face, I felt as if I were finally on top of the world.

But of course, since this is me we're talking about, little did I know that Madara and my mother were about to beat me to the dirt yet again, and then kick me while I was down before I could rise back up and be able to live in peace with my flower, my lover, and have a the family dinner Mom and I always dreamed of for once.


	23. Chapter 22: And Then My Mother

So...I've officially mastered the art of Kishimoto flashbacks. I don't know how I feel about that. XD Anyway, also...after this chapter I'm basically going to be pulling shit out of my ass as far as the plot goes since, well, I've kind of caught up to the manga now...with the expeption of Sasuke's little chit chat with the previous Hokage (which, by the way, what the hell am I supposed to do with Orochimaru? I mean, seriously! Kishimoto's not going to troll us with that creep...is he? Because if he turns good at the last minute and is actually helpful, then that's just WRONG. But if he tries to take over the world once Obito and Madara are out of the picture then that's really really anticlimactic...unless Kishi wants to be a major ass and suddenly make Orochimaru stronger than MADARA with the JUUBI.) Oye...I'll figure it out...I'm not obligated to follow the plot of Naruto, I just do that for your convenience. But since we have no idea how this is going to end, enjoy the next segment of what I like to call, "Jo pulls random shit out of her ass to make a decent story!" (and yes, you can call me Jo. XD)

ENJOI

* * *

**Itachi**

If only there had been time…

"_Nii-San!" Sasuke called out to him one summer morning. He was running down the hall towards Itachi's room. Itachi groaned, the sun dancing through the curtains of his room. He had gotten home from the Sand Village late the night before, and he didn't know how long he had had to sleep, but it wasn't enough. The sun hurting his eyes, Itachi rolled onto his stomach and buried his head into his pillow, his waking thoughts the same as his uncomfortable dreams as he kicked himself mentally. Why had he kissed Ari back at the hospital? Ugh, he was so stupid!_

"_Itachi! You're home! Come on, let's play!" Sasuke cheered as he leapt on top of Itachi's back. Ugh…he didn't want to get up! Sasuke groaned when his elder brother would not stir, so Sasuke jumped up and down a little, tugging gently on Itachi's long hair. "Come one, Itachi…I want to show you the cool jutsu I learned this week! Brother…!"_

"_Mmmmffff," was all the exhausted Uchiha could muster with his squished face. He then turned his head to the side and begged, "Can we do that later…?"_

"_But you always say that!" Sasuke groaned._

"_But I'm tired!"_

"_And I'm bored! You've been sleeping all day! It's ten o'clock already, Itachi!" _

"_Just…some other time, okay? Please?"_

_Sasuke crossed his arms and pouted, "you never make time for me…"_

_Itachi groaned and managed to roll onto his back with Sasuke still on top of him. He stared up at the boy sitting on his stomach and sighed. How could he resist such a sweet face? Despite his fatigue, Itachi reached up and tapped his little brother on the forehead and said, "alright, fine. Get up and let me get dressed, alright?"_

"_Yay! Thank you Itachi!" Sasuke cheered as he leapt off his brother and ran down to the kitchen. Enjoying his last few moments underneath the warmth of his covers, Itachi finally managed to sit up. He went over to his dresser and looked in the mirror. He was bare chested and handed even changed out of the pants from his ANBU uniform. His pupils were still dilated from his concussion and needless to say, Itachi looked like crap. And Ari didn't hesitate to tell him so when she came barging into his room moments later. _

"_Good morning, Uchiha residence!" he heard his sweet voice call out as she stepped through the front door. Itachi could hear Sasuke run up to her and jump into her arms. _

"_Hi Ari!" Sasuke cheered, "How are you?"_

"_I'm great, Sasuke!" Ari responded, "And how are you? And where's the rest of your family?"_

"_Mom left to run errands and Dad's at work at the Police Force's Headquarters today. Itachi's in his room getting ready. He and I are going to go train today!" Sasuke explained. Itachi grimaced as he heard foot steps approaching his room. The trip home once Ari had been discharged from the hospital was painfully awkward, neither of them able to say anything about that stupid kiss. Oh man…this wouldn't end well. _

"_Ita! Wake up, sleepy head!" Ari cheered as she poked her head in, but her eyes widened when she saw the shirtless Uchiha standing in his room wearing fairly tight leggings. Pushing down a blush she opened the door the rest of the way and placed her hands on her hips, "Did you even change when you got home last night?"_

"_No," Itachi responded flatly, "did you?"_

_Ari laughed, "since when would I have the decency to?"_

_Itachi chuckled at that one. He eyed her curiously though. Her hair was still a wild mane, but she was wearing a nice top and…a skirt…with heeled sandals. And she smelled fantastic. Well, she always smelled nice, but wow, was she wearing perfume? She still had a couple bandages around her wrist, but otherwise Ari was almost completely healed from her near-death experience. It was amazing how fast that girl's immune system could work._

_Itachi gulped, trying to hide his blush as he managed, "You look…really nice."_

_Ari giggled as she took a step closer and Itachi even noticed a trace of makeup had been delicately painted on her face. She smiled, "why thank you! Saya's taking me out to lunch today…she says it's in celebration of our mission and what not so I figured I'd look decent for once."_

"_Well you always look decent," Itachi said. He then frowned upon the blush forming on Ari's face. Oh no, he didn't just make things weird again, did he? To redirect the subject, Itachi lifted his hand and patted the girl's head, teasing, "though you still didn't brush your hair."_

_Ari grimaced and swatted his hand away pouting, "But I did…!"_

_At that, Itachi chuckled, "relax, Ari! It wouldn't be you if your hair was tamed anyway."_

_At around that moment, Sasuke glared at his brother and ran up to the two announcing, "Itachi! I thought we were going to train today! You can hang out with your girlfriend later!"_

_Itachi's cheeks flushed a bright red and he glanced nervously over at Ari. The girl in turn giggled and stroked Itachi's hair, "I'll let you boys have fun…though Ita you might want to clean yourself up first."_

"_R-right," Itachi smiled, "I'll see you later…"_

_And with that, Ari gave Itachi a hug, congratulating him on his mission, before she turned to leave. He honestly wasn't too sure why Ari decided to pay a visit, but he was happy to see her none the less. Once gone, Sasuke looked up at his brother, watching Itachi get ready for the day._

"_Why didn't you ask her out?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms._

"_Hm?" Itachi hummed, poking his head out of the shower curtain, "she's my friend. Why would I-?"_

"_Because you love her!" Sasuke cheered, throwing his hands in the air. _

_At that, Itachi frowned as he dunked his head back into the steaming water, "well…yeah but…it doesn't seem like there's any time for love…"_

"_And just what do you mean by that, Itachi?" Sasuke asked, sitting on the bathroom sink, his legs swinging freely, "It seems like you don't have time for anything."_

_Itachi frowned and sighed heavily. With everything he knew and love slowly starting to fall apart, Sasuke was right. There wasn't time for anything._

As they fought Kabuto, Itachi couldn't help but think back to all those times he had put something off due to lack of time. Kabuto thrashed about, calling the Uchiha perfect, but as Itachi looked at what his brother had become, and he felt like nothing more than scum. A worthless piece of trash.

_He awoke with a start. Dammit, these nightmares would never end. That night…Sasuke's tears, his parents' screams of pain. His whole family…and how hardened his innocent little brother had become. What had Itachi done? Heaving heavily, Itachi let out a faint whimper. _

"_Ita…?" Ari asked sleepily. Itachi drew in a sharp breath and closed his mouth, terrified. Of what, exactly, he didn't know, but he was afraid and embarrassed at the state the sleeping woman had found him in. These nightmares happened just about every night, and since Ari had moved in, Itachi didn't want her to know how pitiful the man had become at the rising of the moon. He could usually hide it, waking quietly and then going downstairs to read a book to calm down. But that night…Ari had only been here a week and Itachi had almost completely forgotten that he now shared a bed with the love of his life. _

"_S-Sorry…" Itachi choked out, trying to regain his composure. Alarmed by the tone in his voice, Ari sat up and turned on the light. She looked over and her eyes widened when she saw Itachi's tear-stained face. He looked away, humiliated, and covered the side of his face with his hand. _

"_Ita…" Ari said gently. She placed her hands on his shoulders and he jumped at her touch, "Itachi, what's wrong? What happened?"_

"_My family…" Itachi choked out. Losing his composure he broke out to sobs, "Look, I'm sorry, but please leave me alone!"_

"_Shh, it's okay," Ari cooed, pushing some of his hair behind his ears. Her gentleness only made Itachi heave more, struggling to push his sobs back down. She couldn't see him like this! How humiliating. Noticing Itachi's hesitance towards her, Ari rested her head on his shoulder and sighed heavily, "and I won't leave you alone. You don't have to hide yourself away anymore."_

_At that, Itachi pitched forward and cried harder. He sobbed, "But I'm scum! I killed my family, I broke your heart…and now look where Sasuke is! I don't deserve to live. I'm trash!"_

"_Hey," Ari cooed in a gentle yet stern voice. She placed her hand under his chin and lifted his head up so he would look at her. Itachi sniffled and tried to turn away, but Ari grasped firmly onto the sides of his head with both of her hands. She smiled sadly and said, "you are not trash. You are a wonderful, kind man. There is no time to be feeling sorry for yourself, not when you are such a gentle spirit."_

_Itachi closed his eyes tightly and rested his head on Ari's chest, allowing the tears to fall before her as she held him close. He felt safe in her arms. _

_But she was right, there was no time for him. There was hardly any time for them._

Sighing heavily, Itachi kicked himself as Izanami activated. He even had a second chance. A second chance to make amends with Sasuke. A second chance to live with Ari. A second chance to be a father to Hana. But yet again, his time on this earth was short lived.

They finally subdued Kabuto and Itachi was able to activate Tsukuyomi and get the proper hand signs to deactivate the Edo Tensei.

"_You're coming back, Daddy,"_ Hana's voice echoed in his ears, _"I just know it!"_

And as if to only add to his guilt, Sasuke heaved a heavy sigh behind Itachi and said, "It looks like nothing I will say could change anything. When I saw you, I only followed you because I wanted to confirm whether or not the things Tobi and Danzo said were true. But that's not the only thing I confirmed…"

Itachi grimaced as the boy continued, "When I'm with you, I remember the past, the feelings from my childhood spent together with the brother I loved. And that's exactly why the more time I spend with you and the more we get along like we used to, the more I understand you. But the more my hatred towards Konoha swells. It's now stronger than ever before. I understand what you want me to do, and it's probably because you're my brother that you repudiate me. But it's also because I'm your little brother that I won't stop no matter what. You haven't changed, you can't make time for anything, and I'm not sure if it's because you can't or you're just afraid to get close to people. But for that reason, I refuse to change myself. I just can't back down from my resolve."

Itachi said nothing as he forced Kabuto to weave hand signs. But within him, an epiphany occurred. Sasuke was exactly right, it wasn't that there was no time. Itachi never made time. He was too afraid to. He was afraid of his brother walking down the path of hatred because he loved Itachi too much. He was afraid of breaking Ari's heart because of his own resolve and his orders to betray the village. He was afraid of becoming a father, and making the same mistakes with his child that he did with his brother. And yet…despite everything…all his fears came true. And now, more than ever, Itachi longed for time that for once didn't exist. When he was alive, Itachi made excuses saying there was no time, but that was only because he didn't want there to be time when in actuality he could have easily sat down and explained things to Sasuke, he could have mustered up the courage to ask Ari out on a much more proper occasion, he could have fessed up about his orders and his heart condition sooner and could have survived corrective surgery. He could have given Ari the love she truly deserved and possibly even a baby, a little brother or sister for their flower. Only now, when time actually did run out, could Itachi see these mistakes. And suddenly, Itachi felt himself forced to cram everything he wanted to do for his brother and his family into a few brief moments. He wouldn't waste time any longer.

"Goodbye," Sasuke finally managed to say as the Edo Tensei was released.

* * *

**Ari**

We finally managed to free the Bijuu, but alas they were sealed away in the Gedo Mazo, the giant sealing statue. I looked around and suddenly saw pillars of light shooting to the sky.

"What the…?" I asked.

Bee cheered out happily, "Naruto! Ari! Saya! The Edo Tensei's been released! Itachi saved the day!"

I smiled sadly, relieved that the Impure World Resurrection was over, but that also meant Ita…

…and Saya!

I turned to my friend as she struggled to walk up next to me, her body beginning to disintegrate. She looked up at me as her body glowed and she smiled, "I guess it's time to go."

"Yeah," I said in a soft voice, "go take a break. You earned it. Though tell me…I'm not too much of a dud as an adult, am I?"

Saya laughed, "you're surprisingly not as senile as I thought you'd be. But damn! When did you get boobs?"

I smirked and covered my chest, slightly embarrassed, "Oh, shut up! But Saya…I really am sorry…for everything."

"Don't be…" Saya said, her voice fading, "you were…the best friend I could have ever asked for…even in death…"

"As are you," I said, smiling sadly.

"And you make a great mom…I hope things work out for you…" Saya whispered, her soul lifting out of her body as the Edo Tensei dissipated.

"Goodbye, Saya," I whispered to myself, "goodbye, Itachi…"

* * *

**Sasuke**

He stared in awe as Itachi staggered forward, his hand lifted in front of him. Itachi chuckled and said, "I feel as if I'm slowly losing consciousness…before saying goodbye, I will tell you what you wanted to know. There is no need to lie anymore…what I did that night before leaving you, it's exactly as Danzo and Tobi told you. I will show you the truth…and also…"

Itachi didn't finish but instead activated a genjutsu. Suddenly, Sasuke found himself standing at Nagano river before a younger Itachi and Shisui.

"This is…Itachi's memory?" Sasuke said to himself. Shisui turned to face Itachi, one of his eyes appearing as if it had been gouged out.

"There is no way to stop the Uchiha's coup d'état anymore," Shisui stated, "a civil war will happen in the Leaf and the other countries will try to take advantage of it to attack. It will turn into a war. When I tried to stop the coup by using Koto Amatsukami, Danzo stole my right eye. He doesn't trust me anymore. I've decided to protect the village in my own way. He'll try to take my right eye as well, so I'll give it to you before that happens."

Sasuke and the younger Itachi watched in horror as Shisui pulled out his own eye. He smiled as blood poured out of his socket and said, "You're my best friend, and the only one I can ask of this. Please protect the village and the Uchiha's name."

Itachi took the eye and Shisui leapt into the river, ending his life. Sasuke watched as Itachi turned to leave, fighting tears. Sasuke followed his brother through the genjutsu village. He knew this route…

Before Sasuke could reach Ari's apartment, the Tsukuyomi fast-forwarded to a meeting with the Third Hokage and the elders. The risk of the coup had grown even worse and the elders were all in a panic. It was after that meeting when Danzo gave the orders.

What Sasuke found interesting was that there had been a choice for Itachi. And yet he chose to save the village and Sasuke with it. The memory then flashed forward to the fateful night. Itachi had done most of the killing and positioned himself atop the telephone pole in the center of their clan's residency. He had yet to destroy their parents, and he braced himself as he and Sasuke watched a little Uchiha boy run down the street.

"_Sasuke,"_ Itachi's thoughts rang out, _"I should have told you before all this happened…but it's too late now…"_

He then disappeared to finish off the remaining two Uchiha before Sasuke could discover them. As Itachi appeared from behind his parents, their father said, "I see…so you joined their side…"

"Father, Mother, I…" Itachi began, his voice shaking, but Mother cut him off and smiled sadly.

"We understand Itachi, it's alright," she said.

Father continued and said, "Itachi, promise me that you will take care of Sasuke."

Itachi narrowed his eyes as tears began to stream down his face and mustered, "understood."

Itachi's sword began to shake and upon noticing this, Father urged his son to finish the job, "Don't hesitate. This is the path you chose. Our pain will only last an instant, unlike yours which will continue on forever. Our way of thinking may be different, but Itachi I want you to know that I am proud of you."

Itachi lowered his head and began sobbing as he struck down both Mother and Father, his father's last words to him were, "You really are gentle."

Itachi continued to sob in the memory, trying to regain enough composure to retreat, but a younger Sasuke stepped in, forcing Itachi to hide his tears. As the memory faded, Sasuke saw flashes of other memories throughout Itachi's life. Waking from nightmares, Ari lying in bed with him, kneeling down in front of Ari as he held out a ring, carrying a small girl with purple eyes in his arms. He heard the name "Hana" mentioned several times. But those flashes ended and Sasuke looked up to see his dead brother reaching his hand out to poke his forehead one last time.

"It won't need to be said again," Itachi said, "I lost the truth, and it won't come back. I always lied to you and asking you to forgive me. I always kept you far away with my own hands because I didn't want to involve you…or anyone else…but now I think…I think that maybe you could have changed our mother, our father…the Uchiha…I think that we could have lived in Konoha happily, you could have had the life you deserve…if I had just faced you from the start…tried to see things from your point of view and talked with you about the truth…but I failed and no matter what I say now, my words will not reach you. That's why I'm going to say what I really think…"

Sasuke instinctually closed his eyes anticipating a jab to the forehead as Itachi's head drew near.

But Itachi didn't poke his forehead.

Instead, Sasuke felt Itachi grasp the back of his head and Sasuke opened his eyes to see Itachi pull him close as their foreheads touched. Itachi smiled sadly and said, "You don't have to forgive me. No matter what happens, I will love you forever."

* * *

**Ari**

Itachi…you ended the Edo Tensei too soon…

I stared up in horror as we all slowly started to realize just what sort of mess we were all in. Once we realized that Tobi and Kakashi's sharingans were linked, it didn't take long to come up with a plan on how to counter his attacks. His ability to slip through was the exact same thing as Kakashi's Kamui.

But with that sharingan…

As I had feared, when Naruto smashed the mask into pieces, we no longer stared down a complete stranger hell-bent on destroying the world, but we looked into the eyes of Obito Uchiha, a man who was once a comrade and Kakashi's best friend.

But of course, if our day couldn't get any worse, my heart came to a complete stop and I let out a shriek, jumping back when another man joined Obito's side.

"Ari! What's wrong?" Naruto asked as Dad's chakra form began to emerge.

"Oh no…" Dad growled, "not _him…_"

"That man!" I whimpered, "But Itachi, he…"

Itachi had sacrificed himself twice. And all for nothing. I looked into the only set of eyes which ever haunted my dreams. The eyes which sent my life to hell. The eyes of Madara Uchiha.

"You seem to be having fun there, Obito," Madara noted, placing a hand on his hip. He smirked as he glared down at me, "It's been quite some time, but that terrified look hasn't left your eyes, half-breed."

"Ma-Ma…" I stammered, tears escaping my eyes. I crossed my arms over my chest in an attempt to comfort myself. I had never felt more terrified in my life! Completely beside myself, I let out a scream and fell to my knees.

"Ari!" Naruto cried out, but he looked up at Madara with the same fear in his eyes as he stammered, "He…he's…!"

"Ari, Naruto, stay calm, you'll be alright!" Dad tried to coax, but his efforts failed. He grimaced as he looked up at Madara and cursed, "Damn you…"

Ignoring our panic attacks, Obito looked to Madara and stated, "you defied the Edo Tensei. Very much like you to do that."

"But anyway…" Madara redirected his attention to his opponents.

"WHY?" Naruto roared, "Why is the Madara that was there, here! What happened to all the others?"

At that, Madara let out a chuckle and his gazed shifted to the right as he said, "Who knows…they're all probably…dead."

"YOU BASTARD!" I roared, unleashing my cloak. I was quickly running out of chakra and there was no way I could maintain this form for very long if at all, but my anger boiled over. First he captures Dad, then he kills Mom, and now, and now…and now this?

Madara and Obito completely ignored my outburst and continued talking their plans over. Were we really that weak in their eyes? Was this all pointless? I gritted my teeth. No…I wouldn't let it end here. Not while there were still people in this world I had to protect.

We fought as hard as we could, but the threat of the Juubi's arrival grew imminent as Obito used a discarded tentacle from the Eight Tails and the remains of Ginkaku and Kinkaku to make up for Gyuuki's and Dad's chakras. The Juubi would be incomplete, but it would still be the Juubi nonetheless.

Dammit, this wouldn't end well.

Obito continued to talk Kakashi down, and the copy ninja running out of chakra, he could no longer maintain a Mongekyo.

"Stay in your trash bin, Kakashi," Obito scowled as he attempted to absorb Kakashi into the kamui. Naruto in turn charged forward and rammed Obito in the head.

"Kakashi-sensei is LIKE ME!" he roared, causing Obito to retreat backwards. I collapsed to my knees, unable to stand any longer. I was too exhausted. And Kakashi was much worse.

"Dammit…Naruto, we're sitting ducks out here," I apologized, "don't worry about us, just take care of Obito!"

"But I can't leave you, he'll kill you guys!" Naruto snapped back. I glared at him, what did it matter? If Obito wasn't stopped, it would be all over!

"Naruto," Dad said suddenly, "switch to me!"

Confused, Naruto did as he was asked. Dad had done that a few times already, using Naruto's body to act on his own accord once his chakra cloak ran out. I would never get used to that…I couldn't take my father seriously when he was walking around as the boy I had raised. It was too weird.

Dad turned to Kakashi and held out his hand, "Kakashi-brat, give me your hand!"

"What?" Kakashi asked in shock.

"Just give me your hand!" Dad said again. Kakashi held his arm out and Dad flung the shinobi around and threw him so hard he crashed into Obito who quickly took the chance to absorb Kakashi into kamui when the copy ninja didn't have enough chakra to come back.

"DAAAD!" I shrieked.

Dad turned around and gave me a confused look, "What? Give me your hand too."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" I screamed at him, "You don't just throw people to their deaths when they're out of chakra!"

"Well he's out of the way now, so just give me your hand!" Dad roared back at me.

"No!" I squealed, glaring at him.

"ARIALA UZUMAKI GIVE ME YOUR HAND OR SO HELP ME YOU'RE GROUNDED!" Dad roared, letting lose his rage.

"I'M AN ADULT!" I roared back.

"Give me your hand!"

"Not happening!"

"I won't throw you! I promise!"

"I don't trust you! You're still on the fence with me, I hope you know!"

"I thought we made up!"

"And then you ruined the moment!"

"We're at WAR, Ari!"

"I don't care!"

"Agh!" Giving up, Dad spun around to attack Obito, but his hand only passed through the man. To my surprise, as his hand passed through, Obito coughed up blood.

"What?" I asked. But that was when I realized: Kakashi was on the other side of Kamui with the part of Obito's body that had disappeared. And now I felt like an idiot. Way to think ahead, Ari, way to think ahead. Ugh…this was why I left tactics up to Ita when we fought together…when he wasn't freaking out he could see things with a lot more detail than I ever could have hoped to have the patience to even imagine.

"Kakashi did that from the other side," Dad explained to both Naruto and I, "the difference between you and me is that I can hand out chakra freely. Now Ari, are you going to give me your hand or not?"

I grimaced and braced myself but Dad clasped tightly onto my hand and I felt a surge of chakra pass through my body, filling my chakra network to maximum capacity. I winced as my cloak took form once again, this time emitting a gold glow.

"I'm going to throw you, so don't panic," Dad said. I glared at him. That liar! Rolling his eyes, Dad explained, "Go help you Bee and your uncle! We need to stop the Juubi! And you're light enough for me to throw a good distance."

"You owe me," I growled as Dad lifted me so my feet rested in his palm and forearm.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Nope!" I retorted. Rolling his eyes, Dad chucked me as hard as he could anyway while I screamed, losing the rest of my dignity. I landed on Bee's head with, stumbling forward and falling on my face. Sitting up I brushed the dirt off of me and began to create my phantom dragon jutsu.

"We're gonna blow it before it revives!" Bee explained, "Give it all you got and make it as big as you can!"

I narrowed my eyes and pumped so much chakra into my jutsu that my body began to glow brighter than my cloak. I almost felt as if I was turning my own body into a Susanoo. Hm…I wonder if I could make that into an attack…

At around that moment, Dad and Naruto came forward in their full Bijuu mode and began to create a gigantic Bijuu Bomb

"Yeah!" Naruto replied, "We're ready to go Uncle Bee and Hattsan!"

"FIRE!" I called out as we all released our attacks at once, blasting the Gedo Mazo with all of our strength. "This is it! This is the end!" I called out as the explosion nearly pulled us off of our feet. Once the dust cleared, I sat up and looked around, no Ten-Tails to be found. I managed to let out a laugh. Did we…do it?

"Is this the end?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"Yeah…" Obito responded, managing to stand. The earth began to shake suddenly. It quaked so violently that we all fell, unable to stand. Obito smirked as he said, "It's the end…of this world…"

I stared in horror as ten tails came out of the ground. The head of the Juubi emerged, its single Rinnegan-like eye peering around, waiting for the kill. Obito and Madara leapt onto the Juubi's head and two chords came out and attached themselves to each man's neck to make the two the control center for the Juubi.

"You have got to be kidding me," I breathed out. This couldn't be happening…

* * *

**Chinatsu**

She felt as if she were floating in a dream. There was a child in her arms, she knew that much. Was it Ari? But where was she taking this child? And where was she to begin with? Had she not died and sent her daughter to another time in one last attempt to protect her child? Whatever became of Kurama? Was he alright?

Her thoughts drifted from trying to figure out what this strange sensation was that overcame her and her memories which nearly drowned her in her dreams.

_Kurama…he…he was so handsome. He clearly had no idea how to interact with humans. But Chinatsu felt that that is what added to his charm. How often she dreamed of being able to live happily ever after with this man. She knew it was impossible. Her father tolerated the idea of Kurama visiting every now and then. He had even grown on many clan members as a comrade. Mito and Hashirama even seemed to like him. _

_But to say that she had fallen in love with a Bijuu, Chinatsu wasn't sure even her elder sister would support that idea. Hashirama had caught onto the growing affection, and being the kind and understanding man he was, he didn't seem to object. In fact, he was happy for his sister-in-law. He was, however, concerned for the couple's safety._

"_I want you to be happy, Chinatsu," Hashirama had said, "and I want you to be able to live in peace with Kyuubi, but your father will not stand to see you with an inhuman being. To him, Kyuubi and his family are nothing more than masses of chakra to be controlled."_

"_I understand that, but if I could just get him to see my point of view…if Mito would at least just approve of this…maybe things could work," Chinatsu had whimpered like a child. At that, Hashirama frowned and heaved a heavy sigh._

"_Don't get me wrong, Mito thinks very highly of Kyuubi, but you and I both know that she would never approve of you marrying him," Hashirama said, "she's far too protective of her little sister. If it were any other woman in your family, that would be different. But the fact is, Chinatsu, you're one of the Uzumaki clan's top kunoichi, and for that reason you have a huge bounty for your head. Mito doesn't want to see you give yourself anymore reason to be persecuted by the enemy."_

"_Then what am I supposed to do?" Chinatsu heaved a heavy sigh, "pretend like my feelings for the Kyuubi do not exist?"_

"_That's an impossible thing to do," Hashirama smiled, "but for your safety, you can't let anyone else know. At least not for now. Enjoy your time with Kyuubi. I'll try to talk some sense into Mito. If I can get her to approve of your feelings for him, then we'll revisit the subject, but until then, try to lay low."_

_Chinatsu was forever grateful for Hashirama's infinite wisdom and kindness. However, following his advice was much easier said than done. Later on in that evening, Chinatsu went to see Kurama. Her heart heavy, she knew she wouldn't be able to see him with her heart torn as it was. _

"_What do you mean?" Kurama asked angrily. His voice was threatening, but his eyes showed an indescribable sorrow within that only broke Chinatsu's heart even more._

"_Kurama…I wish I could explain this to you more but I…I can't see you any longer," she repeated, "It's just too difficult…humans and Bijuu…we live in two different worlds."_

"_And since when has that ever stopped you?" Kurama roared, obviously heartbroken. It was moments like this when the Uzumaki woman wished her love didn't wear his heart on his sleeve. "And why so sudden? Has your family not grown to welcome me? Am I just being tricked or something?"_

"_No! It's not that at all!" Chinatsu said, "this has nothing to do with my family it's just that I…I…"_

"_You what, Chinatsu?" Kurama asked angrily, "tell me! The least you could do is tell me what you really think of me! If it's because you hate me that you're leaving, go ahead and say it."_

"_That's not it…" Chinatsu let a tear escape her eye before she stared Kurama down and took in a deep breath as she said, "It's because I love you!"_

_Kurama's eyes widened and he took a step back. Chinatsu said no more, but closed her eyes, anticipating that he would kill her. If there was one thing Kurama hated, it was stupid human emotions that got in the way. She had a feeling he would think that love was a weakness and lose faith in Chinatsu's ability as a strong woman. To her amazement, Kurama lowered his voice and asked, "but love…I'm not human but…isn't love a reason for you to stay with a person?"_

_Chinatsu looked up at Kurama and was shocked to find his eyes watery and his cheeks flushed. He stared at her with the curiosity of a child, unfamiliar with human affection like love. Chiantsu smiled and wiped a tear from her eye as she explained, "you're right. That is a reason to stay with someone. It's every reason to stay with someone."_

"_Then why won't you stay with me?" he then asked, "if you truly love me…then…why can't we be together?"_

"_Kurama…" Chinatsu breathed. She sighed and shook her head, "the fact is that even though my family likes you, even though the village appreciates all that you've done, they're still afraid of you. They can't see all the good things in you that I can because they're so wrapped up in preconceptions that they refuse to open their eyes. My father especially…if he knew that I loved you…it would be a sure death for the both of us. I have a duty to my people, as you have a duty to yours. I can't allow my feelings for you get in the way. Especially not if this love is only foolish and one-sided on my part."_

"_But…" Kurama began, looking away, "what if we were both fools? If your feelings were returned…what would you do then?"_

"_I…I don't understand…" Chinatsu narrowed her eyes, horribly confused. Taking in a shaky breath, Kurama took a step towards her. He placed a clawed hand on her cheek, stroking it gently. _

"_I…I think this is how humans show affection…" Kurama murmured as he closed his eyes and touched his lips to Chinatsu's. Shocked at first, Chinatsu tried to pull away, but she grew too wrapped up in his warm touch and she leaned into his kiss, throwing her arms around his neck. "Chinatsu…this is so selfish of me but…please…please don't leave me…because I love you more than anything…"_

_And later on that night, Chinatsu found herself so engulfed in her love for a man that she gave up on trying to please her clan as she gave herself to Kurama under the stars in the ultimate gift of love. _

_About a year after her affair with Kurama began, Chinatsu awakened one morning feeling worse than she had ever felt before. Her stomach churned uncomfortably and her head pounded. She staggered out of bed and slowly managed to get dressed. What was happening to her? Within minutes of dressing, Chinatsu was overwhelmed by the uncontrollable urge to vomit as she pitched forward and collapsed on the floor, hurling. _

"_What…what is this…?" Chinatsu asked herself. She hardly ever got sick. Scratch that, she just didn't get sick. Uzumaki didn't get sick, their bodies were far too strong for that. When she was able to stand back up, Chinatsu found that she was unbelievably tired, barely able to keep her eyes open._

"_Are you alright, sister?" Mito asked at breakfast that morning._

"_Yeah," Chinatsu smiled, "I'm just not feeling too well this morning at all. A little stomach bug, but I'm alright."_

"_You mean you're…sick?" Mito raised an eyebrow, alarm flashing across her face, "Chinatsu did something happen?"_

"_No…?" Chinatsu raised an eyebrow. Mito grimaced but otherwise said nothing more. She then looked up at Chinatsu, long suspicious of her sister's involvement with the Kyuubi and asked, "you and the Nine-Tails…what is your relationship?"_

"_Sister!" Chinatsu laughed nervously, "we're close friends, don't worry yourself."_

"_I know you're lying," Mito scolded, "I know that look in your eyes anywhere. Hashi's told me about your conversation with him…about you and the Kyuubi."_

"_Mito," Chinatsu sighed, "I won't deny my feelings for Kurama but—"_

"_You named him?" Mito asked, outraged._

"_He named himself! Or…the Sage of Six Paths did…I don't know! That's his name which he told me!"_

"_Chinatsu…I don't like this at all," Mito groaned, "you can't keep seeing him!"_

"_And why not?" Chinatsu narrowed her eyes, "I'm a grown woman, Mito, I think I can choose who I want to love by now."_

"_Not when you're the younger daughter of Kumo Uzumaki! You have your own responsibilities to your clan and your village! Look, we appreciate all the Kyuubi has done for us but—"_

"_All that Kurama has done for us," Chinatsu corrected. _

"_Whatever, but the fact of the matter is that that man is the Nine-Tailed Fox! He's a loose trigger! We don't know how long he will cooperate with us. He could turn at any moment!" Mito urged, "Keep your distance from that beast, Chinatsu. Please."_

_Outraged, Chinatsu stood hastily and left the table and left her sister's home. She met Kurama in their usual spot, a clearing in the woods at the outskirts of Konoha which overlooked a small creek. She didn't know why her argument with Mito had gotten her so upset, but when she met Kurama, she was unable to contain the tears in her eyes as she buried her head into his chest and cried. Not sure how to react to the woman's sudden outburst, Kurama awkwardly patted Chinatsu on the back. _

"_Chinatsu…what happened? Did someone die?" he asked, horribly confused._

"_No…" Chinatsu pulled away from Kurama and furiously wiped her eyes, horribly embarrassed by her display of weakness, "my sister's just an idiot. I'm sorry…I don't know what's gotten into me. I've felt awful all morning."_

_But what had gotten into Chinatsu, was a small blossom, though she didn't know it yet. A harmless, innocent form of life that wanted nothing more than to be loved. And just a couple of months later, Chinatsu discovered the growing blossom as she undressed to join her sister in the hot spring. As they wore fairly heavy kimonos, Chinatsu hadn't paid too much attention and failed to notice her growing womb. She had gotten suspicious, however, when certain cycles of a woman failed to meet Chinatsu on time, but she wrote that off as the result of high stress. But when she took her robes off that evening in the dressing room and tied her long hair up into a bun, there was no mistaking it. _

_She stared in the mirror, her jaw dropped. She turned to the side, looking her body over at different angles. She let out a small whimper. Oh no…_

_At about that moment, Mito came in, growing impatient with her sister's dawdling, "Chinatsu, what's—" but Mito paused, seeing Chinatsu's round stomach. She was barely showing, but having had two children herself, Mito knew a baby bump when she saw one. Mito stared at her younger sister looking heartbroken as she said, "I thought you told me that I didn't have to worry!"_

"_You didn't…you still don't…" Chinatsu said feeling numb. She glanced down and placed her hand on her stomach. As she did, she felt a tiny foot reach out and nudge her hand gently. Chinatsu couldn't help but smile, her heart filling with a warmth she had never known before. _

"_But Chinatsu! If Father finds out—" Mito began, panicked. Chinatsu sighed as she turned to her sister smiling. _

"_Can we just enjoy tonight? Please?" Chinatsu asked. Mito stared at Chinatsu with wide eyes but eventually sighed, slowly accepting her sister's fate and nodded. The next day, Chinatsu was so overjoyed with the news of her growing child, she left early in the morning to find Kurama. She found him in the mountains, sleeping in his true form. As she had been feeling ill from what turned out to be pregnancy, Chinatsu hadn't gone on missions since the morning that all began, so she was surprised at how difficult it was to wriggle into her black, skin-tight uniform that morning. She tied her armor around the fabric, concealing her belly in case anyone else was awake, and then tied her hair into a bun and strapped her swords on her back._

_Keeping her hand protectively on her stomach, Chinatsu stumbled through the rocky terrain towards her lover, and now, the father of her beloved child. _

"_Morning, sleepy head!" Chinatsu cheered as she knocked on his muzzle. Stirring, Kurama jumped as his ears flicked up. He opened one large eye and was shocked to find Chinatsu looking up at him. He lifted his head and looked around, the sun hadn't even come up yet._

"_Chinatsu…ugh…it's too early…why are you hear anyway?" he asked. Chinatsu giggled and leapt onto his head as she sat down. _

"_There's something I want to show you," Chinatsu explained. But suddenly, she grew a little concerned as to how Kurama would react to the news. She lowered her voice, "Kurama…this is a little off topic but…what do you think about kids?"_

"_Those poorly mannered brats of Mito's don't know any boundaries!" Kurama barked, "they have no sense of personal space, no social skills, and no—"_

"_I don't mean those kids," Chinatsu rolled her eyes. Her niece and nephew had strong personalities and could be a little overbearing at times. And they loved to play pranks on Kurama. "I just mean kids in general."_

"_Well, I haven't had a lot of experience with children…why do you ask?" Kurama asked, growing a little suspicious._

_Chinatsu chuckled as she lied on her stomach, swinging her legs as she ran her fingers through Kurama's soft fur. "Well…how would you feel about having kids?"_

"_Well…if that's what you want…" Kurama noted, "But Chinatsu…I don't know if I would make a good father…I'm not the…Hashirama type…"_

"_No one is," Chinatsu giggled, "and you would make a great father!"_

"_But what about the whole…" Kurama asked as he rolled his head a little trying to find the right phrasing, "well…if we were to have children, Chinatsu…they wouldn't exactly be human. If we can't tell your family about us, I don't know how they would react to a baby."_

"_Yeah, I still have to figure that one out," Chinatsu groaned, "well, Mito's okay with it at least…she's freaked out about the idea, but she's okay with it. Really the only other hurdle we have to jump is my father. But if not…eh…I'd rather be with you anyway…"_

"_Chinatsu, where is all of this coming from?" Kurama asked, growing weary. Sighing heavily, Chinatsu slid off of Kurama's head and down his shoulder._

_She looked up at him and crossed her arms asking, "could you shift for me? I need to tell you this eye-to-eye."_

_Hesitantly, Kurama sat up and shrunk down to his human form. Chinatsu led him to a nearby boulder where he could sit and then she took a seat on his lap. Before he had time to ask, Chinatsu took the armor that was wrapped around her middle off and placed Kurama's hand on her growing stomach. As if on cue, their baby nudged against Kurama's hand, causing the Kyuubi to jump and stare at Chinatsu as if she had two heads. _

"_Chinatsu…when…?" Kurama breathed._

_Chinatsu shrugged, "about three months ago, I guess. When I started feeling ill." Again, Chinatsu eyed Kurama skeptically, not entirely sure how he would handle the situation. He stood Chinatsu up and slowly knelt to the ground and placed his lips to her stomach, kissing it gently. Several months later, Chinatsu screamed out in pain, unable to bear the agony any longer. But as the baby came out, Chinatsu was overwhelmed with tears of joy as she heard her baby's first cries._

* * *

**Ari**

The shinobi alliance had finally arrived, but even their numbers did little good. We managed to gain some momentum against the enemy, but the Juubi took out our headquarters with a Bijuu Bomb, despite the huge distance between the battle field and HQ.

But Dad being, well, _Dad_, he mixed his chakra with Naruto's and allowed the boy to give pretty much the entire army their own chakra cloaks. The Nara clan managed to stall the Juubi's movements with Shadow Possession jutsu. Naruto and Lee took the front and attacked Obito and Madara head-on, severing their connection to the Juubi.

"Unlike you, I…" Naruto spat at Obito, "I don't want to sever my connections with anybody!"

"Even if it only brings you pain and suffering?" Obito asked, "look at your half-breed friend down there for example. Do you want to end up like her?"

"I want to be exactly like her!" Naruto spat back, "she saved both me and Kurama from ourselves! She's the reason I'm still alive today!"

"But…" Madara glared at me, an evil grin forming on his face, "she can't even protect her own child."

Alarms went off in my head as fear struck my core as I asked, "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Ignoring me, Madara pulled out a sealing tag and lifted it up saying, "you were quick. I'm impressed with your powers as always. No wonder why you were feared by even your own father…"

Naruto leapt back to my side and raised an eyebrow, "this chakra…someone else from the Edo Tensei?"

"I-It can't be!" Dad panicked, "No…no, not her!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I could feel the approaching chakra as well, but I was no sensory ninja and I could not make out who the individual was. Dad, however, had obviously seen that chakra before.

With a distraught voice, Dad quivered, "Ari…it's…" but he didn't need to finish. She leapt up to the head of the Juubi, standing next to Madara. Her skin greyed, she had not yet been fully awakened, which could explain why she was still around even after the Edo Tensei was released. My knees buckled underneath me when I saw who she carried in her arms.

"It's Hana!" Naruto cried out, "what does Madara want with her? And who is that woman anyway?"

Madara took Hana from the woman's arms and placed the tag in her head. Color returned to her skin and her eyes brightened as she stared down at me and Naruto, horror washing over her face as she quickly realized what was happening.

"It's…" I whimpered, "It's my mother…"


	24. Chapter 23: Hashirama's Story

Um...so I really hope I'm not completely bullshitting you all with my changed plotlines...and I honestly didn't intend for the past couple of chapters to drag on as much as they have but...oh well I'm liking this! Hopefully I get the fight betweein Chinatsu and Ari resolved (finally) in the next chapter...which will then lead to climax which will then lead to end. Oh man, we're getting close guys! I'll try not to get sentimental just yet, but I want to thank you guys yet again for your continual support and extremely kind reviews! You all are the best!

* * *

**Ari**

"M-Mom…" I breathed in shock. My mother leapt off the Juubi's head, under Madara's control as she stood to face me.

"That bastard," Mom cursed, "how did he manage to summon me anyway? Much less control me?"

"It's called the Edo Tensei," I stepped forward explaining, "the Impure World Resurrection brings the dead back to life, controlling them like puppets. Madara was brought back using this jutsu as well…but he defied it. I guess he found a way to control you."

Mom jumped and turned her attention to me and she narrowed your eyes, "apparently you are the one I am going to be forced to kill. But just who are you? What is your purpose?"

My eyes widened and I faltered for a moment. Did she not recognize me or something?

"Wait a minute, you're supposed to kill her?" Naruto's voice cracked. He glanced at me nervously and I took in a shaky breath.

"It doesn't surprise me," I heard Dad say, "The Juubi is still incomplete after all and you and Hana both have massive chakra reserves, though the majority of it is blocked in your half-human state. And, after all Ari, your mother died when you were a small child and you've grown into an adult. Do not be hurt that she does not recognize you."

"That voice…Kurama?" Mom's eyes glistened. It seemed that she could speak to the Tailed Beasts through telepathy as well. "Boy, are you the current host of the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

"Y-yeah," Naruto gulped.

Mom glared fiercely at him and snarled, "then regardless of my orders, I will kill you as well."

"WHAT?" Naruto shrieked, jumping behind me, "why are moms always so scary?"

"Get a hold of yourself, Naruto," I growled at the boy. I then took a step forward and lifted my hand, "Mother, don't kill him. This boy is precious to me, and you are in a different era now. Naruto has befriended Dad, there's no need to feel hatred towards him."

At that, Mom gave me a confused look and only proved to me that I had inherited her analytical skills when she asked, "why are you calling me your mother? Just who are you?"

"I'm your daughter, genius!" I snapped, "It's me! Ari! Remember? You sent her 80-something years into the future for whatever reason?"

At that, Mom's eyes widened in shock as she panicked, "Ariala! What—what's going on? Why am I supposed to kill you?"

"Because it's Madara!" I snapped.

Mom then looked at Naruto and then glared at me, "Ariala, this boy has sealed your father away, why are you protecting him?"

"A lot has changed," I explained stiffly, "just trust me on this one."

"Listen to her, Chinatsu," Dad's voice came out of Naruto's mouth as he used the boy's body, "this boy is different from the others. He is like you and Ari. You can trust him."

Mom grimaced and unsheathed her sword, readying herself for battle. She looked back to me and said in a sad voice, "it doesn't matter whether I can trust that boy or not, I can't control my body. Ari, I'm going to kill you!"

"Not on my watch!" Naruto growled, switching with Dad, "Ari, we can take her!"

"No, Naruto!" I placed my hand in front of him, keeping him from charging. I then looked up at the unconscious Hana in Madara's arms and let out a low growl as my eyes turned a blood red, "this is my fight."

"But Ari-!"

"Your job is to stop the Juubi. Leave Hana and my mother to me. Please," I begged.

Naruto lowered his head and began to talk back to me when Dad spoke up in a sad voice, "she's right Naruto. If anyone can take on Chinatsu, it's Ari. The duty of the child is to surpass their parents, and the duty of a parent is to protect their child until they are old enough to surpass them. Only Ari can stop Chinatsu and save Hana at this point. Trust her."

"Alright fine," Naruto spat, but then he looked at me with sad blue eyes, "but that also means that it's my job to surpass you, Ari, you were practically my mom after all. So if you get in trouble, don't get mad at me if I try to help you, got it?"

I chuckled to myself. He really thought that way about me? "Alright," I said, "but protect yourself first. That's also the job of the child: not to die before their parents."

With that, Naruto took off towards the Juubi's head as Dad reformed, ready to face Madara and Obito. I looked up at the dynamic duo. I had to get Hana away from them somehow…but how? And what did they want with her?

"You don't need to concern yourself just yet, Ariala," Madara spat at me, "I cannot rip the chakra out of this child until she has awoken."

My eyes widened as he said that. Hana…whatever you do, _don't wake up!_

"Ari, keep your eyes on your opponent!" Mom ordered as she lifted her sword at me. I jumped and drew my twin swords. She then scolded as she charged towards me, "have you learned nothing in all these years of training and growing up?"

"Good to see you too, Mother!" I spat, deflecting her sword. Our blades clashed several times. Damn, my mother was strong! No wonder she was feared as the Woman who Tamed the Bijuu. We danced around each other for the longest time, neither of us able to gain any ground. I kept glancing back to Hana, hoping she hadn't stirred yet.

"How hard did you knock her out?" I asked Mom, "and how long ago?"

"I struck her in the pressure point on the neck," Mom answered, "though I wasn't fully conscious myself so I have no idea how long it's been."

Knowing Mom's strength, I figured she struck Hana hard enough to keep her out cold for a few hours in the least. But depending on how long it took her to get from Konoha to here…I gulped and hoped I could figure out a way to save her before she woke up.

"So that child…is she…your daughter?" Mom asked me, "Who's the lucky man?"

I frowned at that, allowing myself to get distracted. Mom saw the opening and sliced my shoulder then knocked me backwards with the hilt of her katana. I grunted as I flipped over and landed on all fours, skidding back a little.

"She's technically Tabi's," I answered her, "but with everything that was going on, she entrusted me to raise Hana."

Mom frowned, coming at me again as she asked, "so there's no man in your life?"

"Well there is," I answered, but then frowned, feeling as if I had been struck in the head with a wave of sorrow, "or…was…he died though…"

Mom narrowed her eyes and firmly gripped my lower jaw under my chin. I panicked as I thought she was trying to choke me, but memories of Itachi flashed through my mind in a blur and I realized she was probing my mind. She then frowned and sighed, "no wonder you're so grief-stricken. It wasn't his time."

"What?" I snapped in horrid confusion, "Mom, he had a heart condition!"

"That means nothing," Mom answered, closing her eyes as she prodded more into my personal life, "he wasn't meant to die…wait a minute…_an Uchiha_?"

Uh-oh. Mom's rage broke as she let out a really really angry roar as she unleashed her chakra chains, wrapped them around me, and then threw me as hard as I could. And I had a feeling that her attack wasn't exactly because she was being controlled.

"Mom! What the hell?" I growled back at her as I spat out some blood in my mouth.

"Why are you dating an _Uchiha_?" Mom snapped at me, "those bipolar bastards are so emotionally unstable! They're worse than a woman on her period! And look at what one of them did to your father!"

I groaned and hastily stood on my feet, "Well, if you had snooped through my personal life anymore, you would have been able to see that Itachi was a little different!"

"He destroyed his clan?"

"On orders!"

"He screwed his brother over, that's for sure…"

"_Mom!_" I snapped at her, "I don't think you're in the position to be judging who I can and can't love, Ms. I'm-Eloping-With-The-Nine-Tailed-FOX!"

Mom in turn groaned and gave me a mildly disgusted look as she said, "okay…you win. But watch out!"

I leapt into the air as mom came at me with jutsu after jutsu. First a fire style, then a wind style, and then a light release. What in the world? "How many elements are you able to use?"

"All of them!" Mom replied, "My father, Mito, and I were all gifted with the Light Release which is a combination of every single element. We could break up the individual elements or use combinations of two or more. That's part of what makes the Uzumaki clan so unique and also what allows us to use such powerful seals."

"Wait, can I do that too?" I asked, baffled as I dodged several of her attacks.

"Can you use Light Release?" she asked.

"Yeah!" I responded.

"Then you can use all of the elements!" Mom cheered, "that's the best way to defeat me!"

I groaned, "but so far I've only ever been able to use Wind and Water Style…and maybe a pitiful attempt at Lightning Style."

"Well you better figure out Fire and Earth pretty fast because even I don't know what I'm going to dish out next!" Mom snapped at me. She unleashed a long chakra chain and flung it at me, I responded with my own chain and as our collided, they tied together, causing the two of us to skid towards each other.

"Agh! Can this day get any worse?" I groaned angrily.

And as if to answer my question, I heard Madara chuckle, "finally, she stirs."

I jumped and looked up. Hana squirmed in Madara's arm and lifted her head. Looking around, her eyes widened in a panic and she let out a whimper.

"HANA!" I screamed. I took off towards the Juubi, which thrashed around violently. I managed to avoid its attacks and run up its arm, but Mom chased after me.

"Ari, look out!" she warned, but with my back to her, I failed to see her leap behind me and strike my shoulder again, causing the wound to open even deeper. I cried out as I collapsed on the Juubi, sliding back down its arm slighting. I maintained enough traction to stay midway up the monster's arm, but I was in so much pain in that moment that I could barely muster up the strength to stand.

"ARI!" Naruto cried out as he and Dad attacked the Juubi with full force, "Ari get up! We've got trouble!"

"I know that!" I growled, struggling against my mother. By this point we were wrestling and I struggled to keep her sword away from me. "Don't worry about me! Save Hana!"

"You're too late," Madara scowled. He lifted Hana by the back of her nightgown and held her in the air. A chord similar to the one which had been attached to his and Obito's necks came up and wrapped around the girl's waste. Hana let out a scream as it tightened around her. "The Juubi will suck up all of her chakra and destroy this half-breed within the hour. And then you're next, Nine-Tailed Brat."

* * *

**Hashirama**

He stared at this young Uchiha before him who demanded answers. He was elated to know that there was a fourth and even a fifth hokage. Though how Tsunade handled the job was a mystery…

"Itachi, my brother, was used by the village," the boy, Sasuke explained with a stern look, "but still he risked his life to protect it. He even died proud to be a shinobi of the Leaf. He killed his comrades and he himself died to protect the village. So just what is it? And the shinobi who created all this…what are they? I want to hear the truth from you, before making my decision…whether to take revenge on the leaf…or…"

The boy didn't finish, but his words were enough to rile Tobirama. "Revenge on the Leaf?" the second hokage asked, outraged, "you are so possessed by Uchiha's evil, brat! I am going to…"

Tobirama readied himself for battle, but Hashirama released a wave of chakra and warned, "_Tobirama_." The walls of the temple which they stood in cracked and started to crumble from the shaking earth that resulted from Hashirama's outburst as he continued, "lower your fingers."

Groaning, the younger brother did as he was told and sighed, "Fine. But you don't have to rouse your chakra so much, _Brother_."

At that, Hashirama smiled and he let out a hearty laugh, "Sorry! Sorry!" He then began to think, unable to keep his smile down. As tragic as this young man's life must have been, it made the Senju proud to know that there had been an Uchiha born with such a great resolve. What an empowering shinobi Itachi Uchiha must have been. "Anyway," Hashirama said, "You had a really great brother, Sasuke. He's a better shinobi than me! I can tell you about the village, but it's a very long story."

At that, Orochimaru stepped in and asked, "if possible, please only tell him what he wants to know. We don't have too much time."

"And what do you mean by that?" Hiruzen, the Third Hokage asked.

"We are currently at war," Orochimaru explained, "Madara Uchiha was revived and is planning to erase all shinobi from this world."

The four Hokage froze, remaining silent. Hashirama sighed heavily and said, "this world is always at war…"

But the chakra he sensed…he could definitely feel that at least two of them belonged to the Kyuubi and the Hachibi. But why were they running loose? The First Hokage then felt a pang of guilt, how he regretted having to seal one who had once been a comrade away. He was the lover of his younger sister, Chinatsu. And the father of his niece. But with the rampage Kyuubi had left, and with Chinatsu and Ariala both gone…what did he have left anyway? It was such a tragic ending…

But wait…Hashirama could've sworn that he felt Chinatsu's chakra as well, but her chakra was off, as if she had been revived and was being controlled. And this chakra she was fighting as well…it was that of an Uzumaki's that was for sure. But it wasn't…entirely human. That couldn't mean…

"Then we should head to the battlefield too!" Hiruzen spoke up, interrupting Hashirama's thoughts.

"You are being controlled by my Edo Tensei," Orochimaru then countered, "I can limit your movements. If you want to go there, you can do it after we finish talking."

Sighing heavily, Hashirama took a moment to break free of Orochimaru's control with a quick release of some more chakra as Hiruzen argued, "We can talk later! Do you understand how serious the situation is if Madara is back?"

"I am on the boy's side," Orochimaru answered, "if Sasuke is not satisfied, I might even use you all to crush the Leaf."

Hashirama cocked his head to the side. This fool wouldn't do that. But Sasuke…he was surrounded in hatred, if Sasuke wasn't satisfied, he would do more than try to take revenge on the Leaf. His love for his elder brother, for his family, was far too great. Itachi may have had the resolve of a Hokage as Hiruzen ahd said earlier, but Sasuke was still engulfed in his clan's curse.

"Orochimaru, I think you misunderstand," Tobirama spoke up. Hashirama grimaced, brother…just stop talking. Please. The Second Hokage continued, "Having improved the accuracy and efficiency of this jutsu was your mistake. This time we were brought back to this world at almost your full power and I will not let you restrain me. I was the one who devised this jutsu. It cannot be helped, I am going!"

Despite Tobirama's efforts, Orochimaru made a hand seal and froze the man in place. At that, Hashirama smiled and said to the Third Hokage, "Sarutobi, you've raised a fine shinobi. Well then! Do not worry, Orochimaru, I will free this boy from the ill feelings restraining him. I don't know what this boy will choose after hearing my words, but if I ignore him, he will undoubtedly become a new Madara."

"Aah," Tobirama groaned, "do as you want, Brother."

With that, Hashirama took a seat on the ground, but unable to ignore the three chakras he was sensing Hashirama asked to anyone in the room who knew the answer, "but before I begin…is there a girl with the name of Ariala Uzumaki living at this time?"

"Uzu…maki?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "You can't be talking about Ari Drake, can you?"

The Fourth Hokage Minato was the first to speak up, "yeah! Ari, she…well, my wife Kushina and I found her unconscious at the outskirts of the village several years ago. Because of her heritage, we told her to go under the name of Ariala Drake to keep enemies from discovering her. But I haven't seen her since she was a child. I don't know how she fairs now."

"She grew up to be a fine shinobi, Minato," Hiruzen answered, "she raised Naruto after you two died she and Itachi Uchiha were feared as the Ultimate Tag Team of the Leaf before Itachi left the village. Though when Itachi left…I'm not sure how, but I think she might have known about the real reason for Itachi's actions. His mission was top-secret, but Ari knew Sasuke's elder brother well enough that I'm not sure his reasons for the massacre convinced her."

At that, Sasuke stared at the ground, his eyes so full of sorrow, it broke Hashirama's heart as the boy said, "oh, she knew about Itachi alright. When I last saw her…after I found out the truth about Itachi…I found out that she had married him."

"What?" Minato asked. He then chuckled lightly and stated, "I guess Kushina and Mikoto were right then…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke snapped.

"Oh…I'll explain later," Minato sighed.

Hashirama frowned, "So my niece is alive after all. That's fantastic! But…to have married your brother, I wonder what suffering she had to endure…probably as much as you have Sasuke, I'm sure. But anyway, I've distracted myself. To tell you about the village and shinobi, I must start with the Uchiha and the Senju…and I must tell you my story…"

* * *

**Ari**

I stared up in horror as the Juubi sucked chakra from Hana. Her eyes were rolled to the back of her head and her mouth hung open as if she were trying to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth. I struggled to reach her, but every time I tried to make a run for it…my mother was just too fast.

"No!" I wept, beginning to panic, "This can't be happening!"

"She's not dead yet!" Dad barked at me, "there's still time!"

"You think you have time?" Madara asked with a smirk, "Please. This child is as good as dead!"

"Hana!" I cried out for what was probably the millionth time. I was not going to lose my baby! In a desperate attempt, Naruto made a shadow clone which jumped out of Dad's mouth and made way to attack Madara and Obito with a Rasengan. He only slipped through Obito and Madara turned to stab him, causing the clone to disappear. I finally kicked my mother off of m with enough force to send her back to the ground and ran up the Juubi's shoulder. The monster chased me, spinning wildly trying to grab me, but I finally reached the top of its head, ready to face Madara head on.

"Let. My daughter. Go," I snarled.

Apparently I had said something absolutely hilarious. Madara began roaring in laughter as he glared at me with that hideous Rinnegan as he said, "You sound just like your father, you know that? Well, I guess you'll end up just like him then."

"You shut your trap, you filthy bastard!" Dad roared in response. He opened his mouth and unleashed a Bijuu Bomb, aiming it towards the Juubi's feet. It was just big enough to cause the Ten-Tails to fall backwards and onto its butt. The shock was just enough to leave a crack in the chord which was strangling Hana. This was my chance. If I could just pull her out of there…

I ran up to Hana and grabbed her under her arms and tried to pull her out, but the chord only tightened and Hana let out a small scream. A tentacle then came up and grasped me by the ankle and I yelped as it began sucking chakra out of me as well.

"This is the end for both of you!" Madara called out.

"Dammit!" I cried out as the chord wrapped around me so tightly that I couldn't move. My arm stuck out awkwardly, barely able to graze Hana with my fingertips. It was amazing how fast the Juubi was sucking the chakra out of me. It grew harder and harder to remain conscious. I had to get out of this…I had to save Hana…!

"Let her go!" Dad roared, he then turned back to the Eight Tails and pleaded, "Bee! Gyuuki! I need your help!"

"Right on!" Bee called out, rushing to Naruto's and Dad's side. They unleashed another round of Bijuu bombs, but it did little good, the Juubi's hold on us was too strong. It was growing harder and harder to keep my eyes open, it felt as if my very life was being ripped out of me.

"Hana…" I croaked, "Please…stay…alive…! I'll…save you…!" But as I struggled to form the words, everything turned to darkness.

"Ari, Hana, take some of my chakra," a voice called out to us from deep within the Juubi. Was that…Matatabi?

I forced myself back to consciousness and I began to struggle within the chord's grasp. The Juubi's thrashing stopped abruptly, its hand trembling as it tried to attack the army down below, but for some reason, its movements were all but halted.

"Auntie…?" I breathed out loud, "Is that…are you still alive…?"

"You can't take me down that easily!" I heard Auntie's voice say in my mind, "but I don't know how long I can stay conscious though. Yours and Hana's cries for each other woke me up."

"And me!" I heard Son Gokuu say.

"Aren't you a pretty little thing!" Shukaku cheered, slurring his speech, "take some of my chakra!"

"Mine too," Kokuo said.

"Take as much chakra as you need, from all of us," Choumei said, "but do so quickly, our consciousness is fading!"

"Right!" I nodded. I closed my eyes and attempted to pull my chakra out of the Juubi and back into my body. As I did so, I felt as if the flood gates opened as my aunts and uncles started pumping me full of chakra. I looked over to Hana who gasped as she woke up, a blue aura of chakra surrounding her as well.

"Hana," Matatabi said gently, "do not be afraid. I am giving you my power…use it well."

"M-Mother…?" Hana asked in awe. My jaw dropped as I saw a blue chakra cloak form around her in the shape of a cat and two chakra tails sprouted out from behind her. I then grunted as I released a wave of chakra, allowing my own cloak to take form as I shattered the chord which trapped me. I then sliced at the base of the chord surrounding Hana and pulled her free. Hana smiled as she looked up at me and cheered, "Mommy! You're okay! But your shoulder…" Hana's smile fell as she lifted her hand to find my blood was sticking to her skin.

"Don't worry about me, sweetie," I breathed, "I'm just relieved that you're alright!" I then looked up just in time to see Madara swinging his giant fan at me in rage. I yelped and jumped backwards, but Obito came around and attempted to attack me. I unsheathed one of my swords and bluffed an attack, taking the opportunity to slip right past Obito. I fell onto my back and then hopped to my feet, trying to get off the Juubi as several tentacles and chords sprouted, trying to capture us.

"Ari! Behind you!" Mom warned. I shrieked as she attacked me with a chakra chain which I barely managed to deflect before I fell backwards and off the Juubi's head. I screamed as I pulled Hana to my chest, hoping I could at least break her fall if I were to fall to my death. But then Dad leapt forward and managed to catch me in his hand, making his chakra form a little intangible to give his palm some give and cushion the fall. I panted heavily as I lied in Dad's hand on my back, hugging Hana tightly. My shoulder and my entire arm burned so badly I thought they were on fire.

"Are you alright?" Dad asked as he leapt away from the Juubi. I opened my eyes to see a shadow clone of Naruto with Dad's eyes staring down at me intently. Trying to catch my breath, I nodded and sat up, my entire body protesting me as I did so.

"Yeah…I'm fine…" I panted, "Hana, are you hurt?"

Hana shook her head, her gorgeous eyes full of concern, "No. But where am I? How did I get here?"

"You were taken," I explained, "You see those men up there? They want us for our chakra. But we can't let them have us, do you understand?"

Hana nodded, "I do."

"Stay close to me. Dad, how much longer do you have in this form?" I asked, gesturing to his massive Fox-shaped chakra.

"We're getting more and more time each time we use it," Dad explained, "last time we managed ten minutes and now we're encroaching twenty. But I'm not sure I can go much longer."

"Okay," I said in a low voice. I then looked down at Mom who still stood on the Juubi's head. Her arms trembled as she raised her sword to attack again. She staggered forward and then took a step back, grimacing as if she were trying to fight the orders given to her.

"She's trying to break free of Madara's control," Dad noted, "I just hope things don't get out of hand before she does."

"Yeah," I said. I stood on my feet, but grunted as my shoulder sent sharp pains though the rest of my body. I bent forward slightly, grasping my arm tightly before I took another step forward.

"Ari, you don't seriously intend to keep fighting her, do you?" Naruto asked me, his eyes full of worry.

"What choice do I have?" I responded. Hesitantly, Dad sent me back down on the ground as I stepped off his hand with Hana following me close behind. I looked down at her, concerned about where she could go that was safe. It only hurt more to know that there was nowhere safe for her to go. But she still had her little chakra cloak. I placed my hand on her head and her body glowed a light blue. That could at least keep her safe for a while. I took a deep breath. I was in pain, but I still had plenty of chakra left thanks to the Tailed Beasts trapped within the Juubi. I pulled my swords back out and lowered my stance. Mom groaned as she struggled against the jutsu. She was close to breaking free of Madara's control, I could feel it, but I had to hold her off until she could.

"Ari, get away from me," Mom grimaced, "I'm not going to hold back anymore and I don't know when I'll be able to wriggle out of Madara's grasp!"

"Then I'll have to keep you away from the others until you can," I answered, "and I won't hold back either!"

"You're stubborn like your father!" Mom cried out as she charged towards me, "you should have run when you had the chance!"

I ignored her pleas and closed my eyes. It must've broke her heart to be facing me in a battle such as this, and I understood why she wanted me to run away. I don't know what I would do if I was forced to fight Hana in a life-or-death battle. But what my mother needed to understand was that protecting those I loved meant more to me than protecting my own life for her sake. I clashed blades with mother several times, and each time my arm grew more and more fatigued, and the wound only opened wider with each blow. But I couldn't stop. I wouldn't let it end here.

* * *

**Hashirama**

"_I first met Madara when we were only children. It started as an innocent game of skipping stones, but little did I know that the boy who I was eager to befriend and play with was the prodigy child of the rival clan, the Uchiha. My family was angry with me at first, for showing kindness to a boy who simply could not be trusted. But I didn't understand. Why couldn't I be friends with someone from another clan? I knew we were at war, but that didn't stop the Senju from cooperating with the Uzumaki._

"_At around that same time, I had met the daughters of the Uzumaki Clan's leader, Mito and Chinatsu. You know, of course, that Mito later became my wife. She was so beautiful…and Chinatsu was practically a sister to me even before I was married. As I grew older, I began to see Madara more frequently, only this time, on the battlefront. I would find him occasionally in non-combat situations and I would greet him casually and offer for him to join me for dinner, just like an old friend. After all, with the frequency we saw each other, we knew each other better than anyone else did. _

"_Then on one night, we were sitting in a tea shop when Madara asked me suddenly, 'Why? Why do you treat me as your comrade? We will likely face each other in yet another battle come morning, so why ask me to join you in such a merry gathering tonight?'_

"'_Well, we aren't fighting right now, are we?' I responded, 'And this isn't morning yet, so we might as well be merry as long as the moon shines, right?'_

"'_Hashirama…you really are a strange one…' Madara groaned as he closed his eyes, sipping tea. And as we predicted, as I stepped forward on the land which the people of the Fire Temple had asked the Senju to protect, I was confronted with none other than Madara and the rest of the Uchiha clan. 'Don't you see?' he asked me as we fought, 'Why bother being friendly to a man who is destined to be your enemy?' This fighting will never end! I don't know how the Senju and the Uzumaki are able to get along so well, but just face it, members of different clans will never be able to mix! Not unless we all banded down on one government, but even then the hostility from our bloody pasts will be too great!'_

"_After that battle, I had gotten to thinking about Madara's words. He was right, clans would always war with each other. But even if we were of different blood, we still lived on the same earth, did we not? Why not band together under one government? True, there were clans who were hostile towards each other, especially the Uchiha and the Senju, but I bore no grudges against my brethren. If our two clans could get along, then surely other clans could coexist with us. _

"_At around that same time, there had been an emergence of natural disasters occurring throughout the world. The Tailed Beasts, which until recently had been only considered myths, had appeared suddenly and wreaked havoc on the world. The Kyuubi had even emerged in the midst of one of mine and Madara's battles and nearly obliterated both of our clans. Fear rippled throughout the Land of Fire of this demon's threat and I met with the leader of the Uzumaki, Kumo, to discuss what could be done to protect our people._

"'_The Kyuubi must be destroyed!' Kumo urged, 'it will only continue to destroy our way of life if we do not put a stop to it!'_

"_I was in agreement with Kumo, I feared for the safety of my people. The Kyuubi's attacks were growing more and more frequent, and stories were traveling around about the other Tailed Beasts running wild. But it was Chinatsu who spoke up, feeling differently about the situation, 'What way of life, Father?' she asked, 'We live in a constant era of war. If you could call it living. We exist only to destroy each other, what kind of life is this if we cannot cooperate with other clans? We are still of the same people, are we not?'_

"'_I think you are missing the point, Chinatsu,' Kumo scolded his daughter. Kumo and Mito both had a habit of treating Chinatsu like a child, despite her wisdom, I had a feeling it was because she was the youngest, but also she saw the world differently than the rest of us did. Kumo continued, 'Even if we were to form stable ties with other clans, our efforts would just be wasted with this monster running around! We must destroy him!'_

"'_And why would we do that?' Chinatsu asked, 'He is still a living creature. He may be destructive, but his ways are no different than ours as we are now. Could we not just give him a chance?'_

"'_Chinatsu, I have had enough of your foolishness!' Kumo barked._

"'_Wait,' I offered, 'she does have a point. We haven't even considered speaking with the Kyuubi yet and already we're jumping to the conclusion of killing him.'_

"'_And how are we supposed to talk to that beast?' Kumo asked. He then sighed heavily and said, 'Chinatsu, your sealing jutsu and Light Release are the best our clan has to offer. As much as I hate to do this, you are the only one who could possibly hope to face the Kyuubi alone. I want you to go out there and capture him. Subdue him, seal him away if you have to, and bring him back here. I will be the one to judge this beast's worth.'_

"'_Understood, father,' Chinatsu said, and with that, she left on her mission. But three days later, she returned empty handed. Kumo was outraged and demanded to know why Chinatsu didn't seal the Kyuubi when she had the chance. But each time he asked her about it, Chinatsu responded, 'He is not as we perceive him to be. I will get him to speak, I am just waiting for the right time.'_

"_Meanwhile, tensions between the Senju and Uchiha were starting to rise again. Both clans were exhausted from fighting, but our exploiters were only growing in hatred. We were all of one people, were we not? So why was there so much fighting? Why must there be war? I met with Madara on several more occasions, trying to convince him that the Uchiha could cooperate with the Senju, but despite our friendly encounters, the man which I called my comrade would not budge on his opinion. I was beginning to lose hope in there being peace between our clans myself. But then Chinatsu pulled off a miracle. _

"_She had been venturing off to meet with the Kyuubi just about every day, and each time she would come back with scrapes and bruises, smiling wide the entire way home. 'Chinatsu, why are you smiling? That thing could have killed you!' Mito would cry out upon seeing her sister._

"_Chinatsu merely laughed the matter off and said, 'I'm smiling, sister, because I'm just that much closer to being able to see eye-to-eye with him. He will come around. We will make peace with the Kyuubi, and then we will make peace with the rest of the world. Just wait and see.'_

"_And make peace, she did. She had only been gone an hour, but as Chinatsu returned home, she held the hand of a tall, armored man with striking facial features and long auburn hair. His eyes were a blood red and his teeth were sharpened and long enough that his canines protruded from his lips slightly. He looked nervous, skittish and not sure how to interact with the strangers he was about to encounter._

"'_Chinatsu, who is this man?' Kumo asked curiously, bowing to the new face politely. _

"_The man tensed and stepped behind Chinatsu, not sure how to respond, but Chinatsu in turn smiled up at the man before looking back to her father and introducing, 'Everyone, I would like you to meet our new friend the Kyuubi.'_

"_It wasn't until that day was I able to muster up the courage to offer a peace treaty to the Uchiha. If Chinatsu could sit down and speak with the Kyuubi as if he were a human being, an old friend, then I could get Madara and his clan to make peace with the Senju. He was hesitant to accept my offer at first, outraged at some points even, but once the Feudal Lord agreed to the treaty, Madara finally accepted my offer. With the Senju, the Uzumaki, and now finally the Uchiha all banded together, we extended our hand to any willing shinobi who wanted to join us as comrades. Clans such as the Sarutobi, the Hyuuga, the Haruno, and many others all wished to cooperate with us and end the senseless fighting. The Kyuubi had even rallied his brethren with Chinatsu's help and convinced them to cease their rampages against the human race. With the cooperation of all our people, we were able to find the stability to found Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. _

"_Of course, what is government without a leader? In the early stages of the village's formation, Madara, Kumo, and I all worked together as a triumvirate, hoping to maintain stability by acting as diplomats for each clan. It was a temporary solution to make sure every one's needs were met until the people of each clan could meld together as one functioning team. For the most part, we were successful and agreements and compromises could be made with ease, but I couldn't help but notice Madara's growing unrest with Kumo and I. He was a little too protective of his clan, wanting the Uchiha to come first at all times when in reality, that simply could not be made possible. I understood where he was coming from as I felt the Senju were due a little more security in the unstable and early days of the Hidden Leaf, but with the growing number of people joining our alliance, sacrifices had to be made on everyone's part. But Madara wouldn't have it. And where he was the most agitated, I found, was the subject of the Tailed Beasts._

"'_They're masses of chakra!' Madara had argued time and time again, 'they have no ideals nor intelligence! They cannot be trusted! And we still have enemies out there, so why can we not just use the Kyuubi's chakra and seal it away?'_

"'_Absolutely not!' Kumo argued, 'the Kyuubi is a trusted friend of the Uzumaki. He has been a comrade in many of our battles and he is a close friend of my daughter. I will not allow an innocent man to be exploited and tortured in such a way!'_

"'_A man? You call that demon a man?' Madara scowled, 'and why is it that the Uzumaki and the Senju always get what they want? Keep the beast around because he's a friend of the Uzumaki? What if he was an enemy of the Uchiha? What would you do then?'_

"'_But Kyuubi is not your enemy, now is he, Madara?' I asked, 'You are a member of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Kyuubi is a friend of this organization. He has protected us from many dangers. He is no enemy of ours.'_

"'_It is an unstable being,' Madara frowned, 'One day he will turn, you just wait and see. Especially you, Kumo. I would not consider that demon my friend if I were you, not when that fowl beast is just waiting to steal your daughter from you, possessing her and enslaving her as his own.'_

"_Those arguments seemed to end in just about the same way. And each time, Kumo and I would shake Madara off the topic, our stance firm. But little did I know that Madara had actually managed to get underneat Kumo's skin. He slowly started to grow weary of the Kyuubi, and very suspicious of Chinatsu. He refused to let her leave his sight, even though she was a grown woman. Outraged at his sudden restrictions, Chinatsu would leave the village for days, even weeks at a time. Kumo would demand to know where Chinatsu would wander off to, but the woman refused to speak with her father. Tensions began to grow and the Kyuubi was welcomed less and less by the Uzumaki. I tried to maintain a friendship with him, inviting him to dinner with Mito, Chinatsu, and I. I was almost cute at how unfamiliar with human customs Kyuubi was. He fumbled around like a child, but he stood proud of what he was, not ashamed to call himself different from others. I admired that about the Kyuubi, and for a while, he too became a close friend. _

"_But as tensions arose between Kumo and Chinatsu, the stability in the relationship between Madara, Kumo, and I only grew that more fragile. Madara stood alone on anything he disagreed with at pretty much every topic. But suddenly, when it came to the matter of the Kyuubi, Kumo took sides with the Uchiha, demanding that the Kyuubi be placed under the control of the sharingan or sealed away. He would not stand to see him run loose with Chinatsu any longer._

"'_But why?' I had asked, 'give me one good reason why we should seal away and exploit a man who has done nothing but help us all this time?'_

"'_He is not a man, he is a beast,' Kumo answered, 'and he is poisoning my daughter!' Madara remained silent in the entirety of this conversation, only observing from a distance with his arms crossed. I continued to vouch for the Kyuubi's validity, and eventually won the argument but at the expense of straining the relationship between both my comrades even further. And things were only made worse when I returned home that morning to a crying Mito who told me the news of Chinatsu's pregnancy. _

"_I made my way to Chinatsu's home as fast as I could. I had known Chinatsu was in love with the Kyuubi, and though I didn't understand where that love came from, I wanted my sister to be happy. He may not have been human, but Kyuubi was a fine man still. He was a fine shinobi. But just because I understood Chinatsu's feelings didn't mean that others would. I had warned her to be cautious of her relationship with the Kyuubi, to not engage in any form of love until Mito and Kumo could at least see what Chinatsu could._

"_I burst through the door of her small home to see Chinatsu bent over at the table, pouring herself tea as she stared up at me in confusion. Kyuubi sat at the table as well, mid-sip as he glanced at me. Chinatsu smiled and made her way towards me, her hand on her stomach. 'Hashi, please, come in!' the woman greeted, oblivious to the panicked expression on my face, 'what brings you here?'_

"'_Mito told me what happened,' I said in a low voice. I then looked up at the Kyuubi nervously. The Kyuubi in response narrowed his eyes and he bared his teeth, ready to attack me if necessary._

"'_And what of it, Hashirama?' he asked, 'Afraid of something you don't understand?'_

"'_Kurama!' Chinatsu scolded. The Kyuubi in response closed his mouth shut and sat back down with crossed arms._

"_I raised an eyebrow, 'his name is Kurama?'_

"_Chinatsu rolled her eyes and nodded, 'yes, yes! That's what I've been trying to tell you all for some time now…but anyway, is that all you came here for? If you want to see for yourself, take a good look! There's a baby in here!"_

"_I covered my face with my hand and groaned as I said, 'Chinatsu…I warned you that your family would not accept your relationship with the Kyuu—I mean, Kurama. Does your father know yet?'_

"_Chinatsu shook her head and sighed, 'No, he doesn't. I also thought you said you would speak with my father. But how is Mito taking the news?'_

"'_Well I can't say that she's not upset,' I grimaced, 'but she understands. But Chinatsu, Kurama, you aren't keeping the baby, are you?'_

"'_Why wouldn't we?' Kurama raised an eyebrow, suspicious._

"_My heart fell. This wouldn't be good. Not good at all, 'Look, Chinatsu, I just finished speaking with your father and Madara. They're both about ready to seal Kurama away and use him for his chakra. Kumo practically wants him dead. If he finds out about your pregnancy…'_

"'_Woah, woah, wait a minute,' Chinatsu asked, alarm beginning to show in her eyes, 'what do you mean by sealing him?'_

"'_He means that the Uchiha want to control me with their goddamned visual genjutsu and if that doesn't work, seal me inside somebody and make them a vessel to use my powers as a weapon of mass destruction. That's what,' Kurama answered with a growl. He then glared at me and asked, 'and where exactly do you stand on this, Hashirama?'_

"'_I plan to protect you both, even if it costs me my life,' I answered sternly, 'Chinatsu is practically my sister and I only want her to be happy, and she's happiest with you. And you are also a friend of mine who has helped me overcome a great deal of obstacles. I won't stand by and let you get sealed away.'_

"_Kurama narrowed his eyes at me as he said, 'I wonder about that, Hashirama…you are human…can you really be that selfless?'_

"_It wasn't long after that conversation that word of Chinatsu's pregnancy spread. Her growing stomach only verified the rumors. Kumo was outraged and Kurama was forced to hide in the mountains somewhere that only Chinatsu could find. Obsessed with protecting his daughter's innocence, Kumo demanded that Kurama be slaughtered. Madara demanded that the Uchiha seal him away and use him as a weapon. The both of them were out of their minds. In the entire village, only Kumo and Madara were the ones who hated the Nine-Tailed Fox. Outside the Uzumaki clan, Chinatsu could walk the streets of Konoha freely and be greeted by enthusiastic friends who would ask her what gender the baby was, how the Kyuubi was handling the preparations to be a father, and other normal and peaceful questions that expectant parents should receive. But you wouldn't know that if you sat in the meeting room with Kumo and Madara. Then finally one day, I put my foot down and said, 'You are both obviously too emotionally attached to your own selfish desires to lead this clan successfully! From this day forward, I will lead this village and I alone. I will not allow Konoha to be driven to turmoil because of two hard-headed men's selfish desires!'_

"_Outraged with my final stance, Kumo and a portion of the Uzumaki clan left Konoha to form their own village: The Village of Whirlpools. But it wasn't until several months after one last attempt to rid the world of the Nine-Tailed Fox did they leave. It was a cold night, and Kumo had begged Chinatsu to abort her child, but she refused. So finally, Kumo and a few hired assassins from the Uchiha snuck into Chinatsu's home and attempted to kill her. Little did they know that Kurama had been hiding in her home at night, suspecting such a betrayal would arise. Her due date approaching, Chinatsu was unable to fend off her attackers on her own, so Kurama took her into his arms and fled the village, traveling far into the mountains where Kumo would not be able to find them. Rumor has it that Kurama met with the other Tailed Beasts and begged for them to help him, but very few did. They saw Chinatsu and their unborn child in the same way Kumo saw Kurama: they were afraid. But there was one who did lend a hand: the Two-Tails. I don't know why she did, but she helped Chinatsu give birth to a little girl who they named Ariala, and from that day forward, the young family of three was always on the move. After that incident, Mito would leave the village frequently to look for her sister. As Chinatsu was forced to keep from settling in one place, my wife was seldom able to meet up with her sister. But there were times when we could find Chinatsu and Kurama. Ariala was turning into quite a beauty the last time I saw her. She had her mother's eyes and her father's determination. And she was so full of kindness. _

"_But Madara…he didn't leave the village unlike Kumo. At least night right away. He attempted to take power from me several times, so in order to avoid any further disputes, I offered to hold an election so the people could decide who they wanted as their new leader. They called the position "Hokage" and the vote was almost unanimous for me. After that, Madara tried to rally the Uchiha against me, but failed. Unbeknownst to him, however, there were a few members who he managed to get under the skin with, just as he did Kumo, and it wasn't until several years after Madara's demise that his ideals came forth again in these individuals. _

"_It was a calm morning. As Madara had left the village a month before, Mito and I were trying to urge Chinatsu, Kurama, and Ari to come back to the village. They could live in peace under our protection. Chinatsu and her family had even visited us for the weekend just a few days before the incident. Their return to the village was all but certain._

"_But there was a chill in the air and as I stepped outside, I saw Kurama rise into the gigantic fox that I had not seen in years. Madara rode atop Kurama's head, and I could barely make out the Bijuu's dilated pupils, but I realized then that Kurama had lost all of his freedom. I rushed to where Kurama was and found Chinatsu running towards me with Ariala in her arms. Chinatsu was badly wounded, her head bleeding profusely. _

"'_Madara…he…' Chinatsu tried to explain as she fell to her knees. Ariala was crying, burying her chest in her mother's arms, 'he got me from behind…and Kurama…Hashi…you have to stop him!'_

"_I nodded my head as I suppressed the sorrow at overwhelmed me. Chinatsu was dying, and I didn't know what would become of Ari. I fought Madara with all of my strength as he manipulated Kurama with ease. I had to free the Kyuubi, I couldn't let my friend be controlled. But Madara…he was my friend too, wasn't he? Why would he do such a thing? He refused to give his reasons for betraying the village, for betraying me, and he refused to see things from my perspective. I eventually managed to get close enough to place a contract seal on Madara, ripping Kurama free of the Uchiha's control. When I did so, the chakra was drained from Madara's body and I managed to score a fatal blow. But when Kurama awakened from his slumber, he looked around in a panic._

"'_Chinatsu! Ariala!' he called out. He looked around, unaware of my presence. When he found Madara lying on the ground, unconscious, he merely stepped on the man's body and let out a ferocious roar. But that's when he also found Chinatsu. She was in Mito's arms by that point, her body cold and lifeless, tears hanging from her eyes. And Ari was nowhere to be found. At that point, we had all thought she was dead, only Chinatsu knew what really happened to the poor child._

"_Overcome by grief, the Kyuubi let loose his rage and began to attack the Hidden Leaf. I tried to reason with the Fox, but he too refused to listen. Everything he had known that had brought him closer to being human was gone. All that mattered to the demon was destroying the world which took the people he loved most from him. It took another great battle, but I finally managed to stop the Kyuubi, exhausting him enough that Mito finally spoke up and said, 'seal him inside of me.'_

"'_What?' I asked in disbelief, 'Mito, are you crazy?'_

"_Mito lowered her eyes and said, 'Hashi, this is not the man my sister knew and loved. He is beyond our reach now. If you wish to protect this world, you will seal the Nine-Tails inside my body. My chakra can subdue him for a while.'_

"_It broke my heart to do so, but I did as my wife had asked. In one day I had lost my two closest friends, I had taken them from this world with my own hands all for the sake of protecting an idea called peace. Was it truly the right thing to do? I asked myself that question for years after that fierce battle. Looking back, I know it was. Madara was beyond my reach before I had a chance to save him and the only thing that could enable Kurama to see the light was an individual like Chinatsu who could sit down and see him as something more than a mass of chakra or an evil demon. To test the value of an individual and weigh it over the value of an entire people is the curse of a shinobi, but it is also our duty. To raise your hand against a comrade for the sake of peace…it sounds like a terrible idea, but at times it is necessary. You could call a shinobi evil for that reason and despise them. But I must ask you this, is it not better to raise your hand against a friend who has lost their way than to have never been their friend at all? In times of war, it is easy to give up and give in to the hatred around us, and it is our job to eliminate the individuals who have given up, the individuals like Madara. But what is important is that those individuals were given love and given the opportunity to find their way again before they are eliminated. As long as there is a pathway home, and as long as it is not covered in thorns, then there is hope. To love our comrades as we love ourselves, to love our enemies even, that is the gift of shinobi, and that job is even more important than destroying the lost souls we once called friends."_


	25. Chapter 24: As Lovers Should

In writing this chapter, I realized two things:

I should have put part of this into the last chapter for the sake of making the story flow a bit better...so...sorry, I may revise that later.

Apparently Itachi is Jesus. I don't know either...it just...happened that way...what's a good story without a Christ figure? XD

Also, we are at the end of this story (sad face :( ) but I have ONE MORE chapter after this to tie everything together so don't get sappy on me yet! Anyway,

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

"GYAAAAH!" I screamed as I fell backwards. Mom staggered forward, exhausted as she continued to fight Madara's control over her. I stayed in front of Hana acting as a shield and I dug my sword into the ground, holding onto its hilt for support.

"Run!" Mom pleaded as she stood over me, raising her sword. I heaved and tried to stand, but couldn't. I lifted my hand and tried to muster up enough chakra to use at least one phantom dragon against her as I glared up at my mother. Mom in turn closed her eyes as her sword came down on me.

But as if he were heaven-sent, a young dark-haired man bolted in front of me, deflecting Mom's sword with his as she shouted it, "Ari! You're such an idiot!"

I jumped and stared up at the young man. That voice…sure enough, I stared at the Uchiha symbol on his back, his duck-shaped hair blowing in the wind.

"Sasuke?" I asked in disbelief, "But how-?"

"He's not the only one!" I heard another voice call out. To my amazement, a resurrected Uncle Hashi came up from the ground with his Wood Style ninjutsu as he wrapped his dragon around the Juubi. "Madara, your opponent is me now!" he shouted with crossed arms.

My jaw dropped. What in the hell…? At around that moment, Dad's chakra form dissipated and Naruto fell to the ground as Obito made an attempt to attack him, but as a flash of yellow zipped past my sight, I saw Minato-sensei deflect Obito's attack, protecting the boy.

"Dad?" Naruto asked in bewilderment as he landed on the ground. He then looked over to me and nearly shit his pants as he shrieked, "Sasuke?"

"Put a sock in it, Loser," Sasuke spat back as he glared intently at my mother. I stood to my feet and took the brief pause as an opportunity to heal my shoulder with medical ninjutsu. I never got the chance to as Mom continued to attack me and that ended up really holding me back. As the pain ebbed away, I grinned.

"What brought you here, Duckbutt?" I teased.

Hana poked her head out from behind me, hugging my legs as she giggled, "You're Sasuke? More like Uncle Duckey!"

Sasuke grimaced and crinkled his nose, obviously disgusted by the remark as he asked, "who's this brat?"

"You niece," I answered flatly, placing my hands on my hips, "and you better be nice to her, Sasuke, she's worse about nicknames than even I am."

"Great!" Sasuke spat back, "just what I need, does she stab you in the forehead too?"

"Not yet," I rolled my eyes, sighing heavily. I then looked around and found that not only were Uncle Hashi and Minato-sensei here, but the second and third hokages were here as well. "So…how did you get all four of these people together?"

"I revived Orochimaru," Sasuke explained, "and he revived those four."

"You did what?" I spat, "please tell me what in the world made you think that that was a good idea!"

"He was the only one who knew how to use Edo Tensei," Sasuke shrugged, "and I needed answers."

"You couldn't just crack open a history book?" I face-palmed, groaning.

"I needed to hear things from their point of view," Sasuke spat, "history books really aren't good at convincing you that it was right to exploit someone's brother."

"Oh good grief," I groaned, "and where do you stand with this now?"

"Undecided still," Sasuke answered, "but Hashirama had already broken through the Edo Tensei's control and they really wanted to help, so I'll make my decision here."

"Well this is perfect," I snapped back, "do you have Itachi's eyes?"

"Yeah."

"Then whip up a Susanoo. Like, _now_," I watched suspiciously as Mom came to attack us again. I stepped in front of Sasuke and extended one of my chakra tails out to grasp hold of her. If I could hold her still, I could by time for Mom to break free of Madara's control.

But of course, because she was just that good, she released a chakra chain with an explosive tag on it and used it to swipe my tail away, blowing me backwards with the explosion. I wrapped my arms around Sasuke and Hana, trying to shield them from the explosion as we fell back to the ground.

"Damn!" I cursed angrily, glaring back at my mother.

"So is that your mother or something?" Sasuke asked as we sat back up. He looked from my mom to me and back, noting the resemblance between us.

"Yeah," I answered flatly.

Sasuke grimaced, "and the Nine-Tails is your father…?"

"Yeah."

"How did that happen?"

"Well, when a man and a woman love each other very very much," I began sarcastically, "and sometimes if there is sake involved…"

"That's not what I meant!" the Uchiha boy growled back at me. I rolled my eyes then focused my attention back to my mother. We were getting nowhere with her. I then looked up at the Juubi as it thrashed around, trying to fight the shinobi alliance. Periodically, its movements would stall and be shortened. I had a feeling that the Tailed Beasts were trying to separate and free themselves. I looked over to Naruto, Minato, and now Kakashi, who faced Obito now.

"How did you survive?" Minato-sensei asked with wide eyes, "and why are you doing this?"

"That's none of your concern," Obito spat back, "now make this easy and hand over the Hachibi and the Kyuubi already. You're all a nuisance. And give us the half-breeds while you're at it too."

"Not a chance!" Naruto spat back.

Obito then began to charge towards Naruto ready to attack, but Minato stepped in front of his son. At the last possible second, Obito disappeared, and then reappeared right in front of Sasuke.

"In that case, I'll just start by getting rid of this traitor!" Obito spat, aiming to attack Sasuke. With wide eyes, Minato threw a kunai towards Obito and began to teleport to the knife, but he was too late. Without thinking, I threw Sasuke and Hana both out of the way and turned my back towards Obito as he rammed his hand through my chest.

"ARI!" Mom screamed. Minato reappeared pointing the kunai at Obito's head, but he let out a yelp when he found the state I was in. I glared behind me, spitting blood at the Uchiha.

"But why…?" Obito asked in disbelief as he pulled his hand out of my chest. I coughed up more blood as I fell to my knees, kneeling over Sasuke. The boy stared up at me with panicked eyes as some of my blood dripped on him.

"MOMMY!" Hana screamed out, tears falling from her eyes. I forced a smile and reached up to stroke her hair.

"Shh…it's…it's alright, Hana…don't cry…" I managed to say. My entire body ached, but everything was slowly starting to go numb and my vision blurred. I looked over to see Naruto running towards me, tears falling from his eyes. I looked back at Sasuke who trembled.

"But why…? Why would you save me? I killed your husband! I'm…" he asked in shock, unable to find the words to express his emotions.

"Because…" I answered, finally understanding the instincts which led me to choose Naruto over my father, to stick with Itachi after he slaughtered his clan, and to of course, marry a man despite his impending death, "…that's my Nindo…my way of the shinobi…it's better to…sacrifice for love…than to have not loved at all…right?"

"Pathetic trash," Obito spat at me.

Minato let out a roar and as Obito attempted to strike me again, the Fourth Hokage rammed into his former student and knocked him out of the way.

As those two fought, Sasuke shook his head, still not understanding what I meant, "But…still, I don't get it."

"Sasuke," I began, struggling to stay conscious, "you are so precious to me…you, Naruto, Sakura, Hana…and Minato and Kushina-sensei…my mother and my father…my aunts, uncles…and of course, my Ita…you've all shaped who I am…and no matter how lost any one of your become or how distant we are from each other…I will never ever stop loving you. Any of you. Even if I'm forced to kill you as Itachi did to your family…even if it kills me in the end…I will never stop protecting you, protecting the person I know you can be…I will never stop loving you…that's what a shinobi is…at least that's what I think…"

At that, the boy's eyes widened and his lip began to quiver as he spat out, "I…I'm so…stupid…"

I attempted to lift my hand up and place it on Sasuke's shoulder, but in that moment Mom came up from behind me, crying as she warned, "Ari! Run! Please!"

I turned to face my mother and with my last ounce of strength, rolled onto my back as I blocked Mom's sword with my own hands.

"Sasuke! Take Hana and run!" I ordered. Sasuke didn't hesitate to do as I asked and he took the little girl into his arms and leapt into the air, rejoining Naruto. I pushed Mom off me and staggered to my feet. Mom raised her sword to me again, tears streaming down her face.

"Ari, just give up already!" she pleaded, "just run from me! I will break free of this control eventually, but you don't have to kill yourself!"

"I'm…your…opponent…" I panted, hunching forward slightly as I placed my hand firmly over the gaping wound in my chest.

"Just stop…" Mom begged, "I'm going to kill you if you don't run!" Mom charged towards me again and weaved hand signs for a Lightning-based attack. I struggled to weave my own hand signs to use Wind Style. I bent the air current around me and formed a ring of wind, my feet balancing on it as I rode the circular air current which surrounded me like a skateboard. Mom shot a stream of Lightning at me and I spat out an air bullet to deflect the attack. I was able to dance around her in battle for a few brief moments, but as my body started to fail me, I vomited up blood as my body pitched forward, threatening to collapse. My mother took the opportunity to punch me as hard as she could, knocking me back ten feet to where Sasuke and Naruto stood.

"Ari!" Naruto fell to his knees, trying to help, "we need a medic!"

"Naruto…" I panted, "…stop…"

"But Ari-!"

"Get out of here!" I screamed up at him, my limps no longer able to move. I glanced back at my mother who walked towards us, her body hesitating with every step. She was so close to breaking free…

Ignoring my please, Naruto and Sasuke both leapt in front of me and attempted to attack my mother head-on. They managed to hold her off a little longer, but even those two were tiring from non-stop battle. Hana knelt down in front of me and placed her hands over my wound and tried to stop the bleeding.

"You'll be okay…" the little girl whimpered.

I smiled and reached up to Hana with a trembling hand as I stroked her cheek, "don't worry about me, sweet flower…it'll be alright."

"You're not going to die, you got it?" Hana ordered, her eyes watery, "remember your promise!"

"I…know…" I managed to choke out, my vision fading.

"Mom! Don't go to sleep!" Hana pleaded, shaking me lightly. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but when I blinked again, Mom was staring down at me, tears falling from her eyes.

"Please get up, Ari…GET UP! RUN!" Mom begged me as she lifted her sword into the air.

Hana let out a scream but then bent over, placing something around my neck. I opened my eyes enough to see a little silver chain cupped in her hands before she wrapped it around me. She then got up and stood over me, lifting her hands as she glared at my mom and ordered, "You leave my mommy alone!"

"Hana…" I moaned weakly. What was she doing? She had to run away!

"Run away, child! Both of you! Please!" my mother wept. She then swung her blade down to kill us both.

As I fell into the darkness, I heard Hana cry out, "DADDY PLEASE HELP MOMMY!"

* * *

**Chinatsu**

She fought off the Uchiha and Kurama's jinchuuriki with ease. Damn her regenerative abilities, thanks to the Edo Tensei, her body did not tire nor could she feel pain. She continued to pull away from the threads which kept her as Madara's puppet. There was just one string left, she was so close. But that string was enough to get Chinatsu Uzumaki to raise her sword against her own daughter.

"Please get up, Ari…GET UP! RUN!" Chinatsu sobbed as she lifted her sword. Dammit, why couldn't she cut that last thread? Why couldn't she control her body? The little girl beside Ari glared up at Chinatsu and stood over her mother's body as she lifted her hands after she fastened a silver necklace to Ari's neck.

"You leave my mommy alone!" Hana ordered defiantly. Chinatsu admired the little girl's courage. She reminded Chinatsu so much of Ari when she was that age…but the sight only broke Chinatsu's heart even more. If she had known it would come down to this…would Chinatsu have even submitted to her feelings for Kurama in the first place? Shaking the thoughts away, Chinatsu stared down at the necklace around Ari's neck. It was silver with silver rings surrounding the chain and the gold circles around the necklace Ari originally wore seemed to fit into those rings perfectly, making the two pieces of jewelry to appear as one. But the woman could not focus on the neckwear for long as she grimaced, her body acting on its own again.

"Run away, child!" Chinatsu pleaded to the little girl, "both of you! Please!"

But Hana did not budge and Ari's eyes closed as the woman lost consciousness. No. No, no, no, no! Chinatsu let out a scream as she swung her sword down and Hana closed her eyes as she yelped. Chinatsu could not look as he sword stuck.

But it was not a child nor was it her unconscious child which she struck. Chinatsu opened one eye to see Ari's hand reached up, straight as a bored, grasping tightly to Chinatsu's blade. She was still unconscious, but something looked as if it were controlling her.

"What?" Chinatsu asked in disbelief. Ari opened her eyes then, her expression stoic.

And two Sharingan stared back up at Chinatsu.

Ari struggled to sit up as she threw Chinatsu to the side. Hana stared up at Ari in disbelief as she sat on her knees and patted the little girl's head. Ari smiled, and in that instant, Chinatsu realized that it was not actually Ari who spoke, "you're alright, Hana. Everything will be alright. Go find the medical unit behind the front lines. They will protect you from here on."

Nodding in bewilderment, Hana did as she was told and made her escape while she had the chance.

"Who are you?" Chinatsu asked with wide eyes. Ari's body stood, and Chinatsu watched as the wound in Ari's chest began to heal, her body regenerating. It was the work of medical ninjutsu, but no chakra was used to heal it. Unless the healing was done from within.

"If I can fight in her stead, then Ari has time to rebuild her chakra and heal her wounds," the voice that came from Ari's mouth was still Ari's, but it was deeper and more articulate. She then lifted her hands and smiled, "this is the least I can do. And perhaps even with my genjutsu I can help free you, Lady Chinatsu."

Chinatsu smirked and she placed her hands on her hips, "you died before you were destined to and your soul still lingers so you slip into your fiancé's body just and force her soul back into it just as she is about to die…you really are a genius. But you can't stay there for long. Two souls cannot occupy one body."

Through Ari, Itachi Uchiha narrowed his eyes and said, "I will stay here as long as I can. I won't let Ari die here. Not now."

With that, Itachi charged forward at speeds Chinatsu hadn't seen since she first began her fight with Ari. Chinatsu struggled to deflect the attacks; the fighting style she was encountering was totally different from Ari's. Chinatsu smiled, perhaps there were some nice level-headed men within the Uchiha…

* * *

**Naruto**

He sat up with a moan as he held his aching head. Groaning, his mind suddenly started racing as he realized what was happening. He sat up, panicked, but was shocked to see Ari going head-to-head with Chinatsu as if she had never been injured.

"Ari!" Naruto called out in disbelief. What was going on? Was he seeing things?

"Wait a minute," Sasuke noted, "that's Ari but…her moves are different. At least that's not how she fought the last time I saw her."

Naruto watched Ari carefully. She moved with speed and grace as always, but Sasuke was right. Something was off. She wasn't using her twin swords and her swift taijutsu attacks against Chinatsu, though still affective, looked more like love taps compared to the full blown kicks or punches Ari normally delivered. And then Naruto saw something even stranger. As Ari leapt into the air, Chinatsu spun around in a circle and unleashed a massive Wind Style attack as she called out, "Wind Style: Divine Galestorm!"

Ari then weaved several hand signs (at a greater speed than usual…which is saying something because she was fast at hand signs) as she puffed out her cheeks and then blew a massive fireball out of her mouth as she called, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" the fireball blew the Galestorm back towards Chinatsu, the wind-based attack only fueling the fire as it scorched Chinatsu, and even caught Obito and Madara.

…

"Since when can she use fire style?" Naruto asked stupidly.

"Since when can she use a jutsu made by the Uchiha?" Sasuke asked. Ari landed on the ground in front of the two boys, glancing back at them with a stern, but surprisingly calm, expression before taking off towards Chinatsu again.

In that glance, Naruto saw it and his jaw dropped.

"Was that—" Naruto started.

"—A sharingan?" Sasuke finished with wide eyes, "How did she manage that?"

Within Naruto, Kurama slammed the ground with his fist and called out, "That's it! Naruto! Look closely at Ari, are you sensing more than one chakra within her?"

Naruto examined Ari closely, she was definitely emitting two types of chakra from her body…but how?

"It's Itachi," Kurama explained, "he's using Ari as if she's his jinchuuriki in order to buy her some time to heal!"

"Itachi?" Naruto blurted out in shock. Sasuke jumped and gave Naruto a confused look and Ari turned her head back to Naruto, pausing just long enough to flash a smile. Yep. That was Itachi's Mongekyo alright. "Itachi, but how?"

"It's difficult to explain," he responded in Ari's voice.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke gasped in utter shock.

At that, Itachi gave a smirk as he knocked Chinatsu back and shouted, "I'm making time for once!"

* * *

**Ari**

I awoke feeling as if I were floating. Did I…die? I opened my eyes and looked around. I was…standing? And…still fighting Mom? But I couldn't control my movements at all, I felt as if I was being moved by puppet strings. Actually, it felt more like I was watching from a distance as someone moved me around.

"You're finally awake," I heard Itachi's voice say in my head. I gasped and suddenly, I felt as if I was standing in darkness, watching the world outside my body as if it were a television. In front of me, Itachi stood, controlling my movements.

"Ita? How did you—?" I began to ask, but found I was at a loss for words.

"If Madara can defy all logic, then so can I," Ita spat, a little pissed off. He then calmed his anger and turned back to mile at me, his face emitting a soft glow as he asked, "how are you feeling? I used some of your chakra to heal the wound in your chest and I've been able to fight off your mother. I still have plenty of chakra left, you can just rest for now until you're ready to fight."

"But how did you get into my body?" I asked still in shock.

"You just about died, you know," Ita smiled sadly, "I couldn't do anything to protect you on the outside, so when I saw your soul began to slip away, I took the opportunity to pull you back in and used the empty space to control you."

I narrowed my eyes still confused, "yes, but how are you still here? Two souls don't fit in one body."

"Remember that mission at Utsukuma Inn when Kagami stole your soul? You were still able to fight your way to the surface," Ita explained.

"Because she had my necklace," I countered, "for something like this to work, the host needs an artifact that belonged to the soul they're taking that can be worn and used as a medium, so how-?"

I momentarily took back control of my body and looked around as I placed my hand to my collar bone. I fingered the two necklaces around my neck and looked down to see silver and gold sparkling on my collar. I then gave Ita control again and spat out, "Where the hell did your necklace come from? I left it with your body! Both times!"

Ita shrugged, "Hana had it and put it on you."

"Where did she get it?"

"I don't know."

"You didn't even ask her?"

Itachi sighed heavily and said, "Look, Ari, when you live with two girls who are descendants of Tailed Beasts and one is telepathic while the other sees the future, you learn to not question the random shit that comes up out of nowhere."

I groaned, sighing heavily. I then centered myself and built up as much chakra as I could, "alright, Ita," I said, "how long do you have?"

"Just a few minutes," Itachi said, "but the last thing I'm going to do is use Tsukuyomi to free your mother. She's broken from the Edo Tensei's control, but Madara is using a genjutsu to subdue her."

"Then let's finish things now, what do you say, want to go one more round as the Silent and Deadly?" I asked.

Itachi smirked, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

**Naruto**

At some point, Ari had to have come back out because there was no way Itachi could come up with _that_ many uses for every single cuss word in the book. And ones that were not even invented yet. When Itachi (or Ari, he wasn't sure) started gaining the upper hand over Chinatsu, Obito managed to step in and aid the Uzumaki woman. To make matters worse, the Juubi singled Ari out and started attacking her.

"THIS IS NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR YOU ASSHOLES!" Ari roared. Naruto caught a glimpse of her eyes and noted that they had returned to their ice blue. Yeah that was Ari. She landed on the ground and skidded backwards slightly, growling as she crouched down. Her chakra cloak was tinted red and more heavily armored than it had been before, decked out with a shield and sword leaving Naruto to assume that Ari's cloak had mixed with Itachi's Susanoo.

Ari blinked and sharingan returned to her eyes as Itachi groaned, "calm down…you said you wanted to fight…"

"Okay, this is really weird," Naruto groaned.

"Tell me about it," Kurama sighed heavily, "Alright Naruto, I've rebuilt my chakra. Let's try to hold this form for as long as we can!"

"Right!" Naruto cheered, releasing Kurama's chakra. They began to step in to help Ari out, but it seemed like she didn't really need help. Or they…Naruto watched Ari as her movements would be powerful, blowing her opponents away with Wind Style as she flew through the air like an acrobat and drew her swords. Then suddenly she would land on the ground and go more on the defensive, her movements more subtle, relying on genjutsu. Then her moves would return to normal, and then they would go back to more Itachi-style fighting. And back and forth until Naruto noticed the movements synchronize and blend into one clean form, Ari's left eye an ice blue and her right eye a sharingan. Naruto's jaw dropped as he observed the two fighting as one. They weren't called the Ultimate Tag Team for nothing, that's for sure.

"Snap out of it!" Kurama barked suddenly, "we have job to do too, you know!" Naruto shook his head fervently and nodded. This was it, the last and final push to this battle.

* * *

**Ari**

I was seriously beginning to doubt that my mother was actually human. Where were all these attacks coming from? I was beginning to grow really annoyed and impatient with this whole scenario. Ita said that it was a genjutsu that kept Mom under Madara's control and that he was waiting to use it until I was ready to fight on my own but…my wound had healed a long time ago…

Itachi chuckled listening to my thoughts, "So impatient. I just want to make sure you have as big of a lead as possible. You mother may not tire, but Obito and Madara are. The more we can exhaust them before I run out of chakra the better."

"Okay fine, I see your point," I nodded, "but what are we going to do about the Juubi?"

If I could have covered my ears to avoid listening to Itachi's head spin faster than the speed of light, I would have. As he calculated, I felt a serious migraine coming on as I was caught between trying to decipher his thought process and blocking it out entirely.

"You said you and Hana heard the voices of the other Tailed Beasts within the Juubi, right?" he asked suddenly.

"Yeah," I answered.

Itachi thought some more and I groaned, trying to dodge several simultaneous attacks from Mother and Obito. I glanced up to find Hashirama and Madara going at it and reshaping the landscape in the meantime. Itachi then asked, "Is there a way to separate the different chakras at all?"

"You mean like how Naruto pulled Dad's chakra out of his body?" I asked him in response, and idea sparking in my mind.

Itachi then jumped in shock, his sudden motion causing my stomach to flop as we were in the cramped space that was my head. "That's it!" he cheered, "Ari, I think I know how we can stop the Juubi."

"And I think I know where you're going with this," I said, "but we're going to need some major sealing jutsu…preferably my mom as she's the best one there is on this battlefield."

"Alright, shall I activate Tsukuyomi then?" Itachi asked.

"Well…" I grimaced, not sure how I felt about that.

"Ari," Itachi said softly, "I have to go."

"I know but…you aren't going to make me go blind…are you?"

"Ari!"

"What? It's a legitimate question!"

"Using the Mongekyo one time is not going to do anything to your sight. And besides, it's my sharingan in your eyes, it should work!"

"Ita, I don't know about this…"

"Do you want to win this war or not?"

"Okay! Okay! Just get it over with already!"

* * *

**Chinatsu**

She was amazed at how well Ari and Itachi were able to coexist and fight together in one body. Kurama and his Jinchuuriki joined the battle, fending Chinatsu and Obito both off. But then Ari turned to Naruto and ordered, "Naruto! Stay behind me!"

"Got it!" Naruto responded, "but why?"

"Just give me a second!" she responded. Ari then released her chakra chain and managed to wrap it around Chinatsu when she was distracted, pinning her to the ground. Ari then pounced and landed on top of Chinatsu, holding her down with all her strength. The sharingan in Ari's right eye began to spin and form a Mongekyo and Chinatsu gasped as she was caught in a genjutsu. But in a brief moment, Chinatsu's body relaxed as she rested on the ground. She felt so much freer suddenly.

Ari yelped and sat back, holding her head in pain as she snapped, "Dammit, Ita! I thought you said this wouldn't do anything!" She then blinked her right eye several times as it watered, turning a little red, "god…_damn_! That hurt!"

Chinatsu then sat up as the chakra chains disappeared and she eyed Ari curiously, "What did you do to me?"

Ari shook her head and rubbed her temples, struggling to get her headache to go away as she answered, "Madara was using a genjutsu on you to keep you under control even after you broke free of the Edo Tensei's control. Itachi used his ultimate genjutsu, the Tsukuyomi, on you to counter Madara's to free you."

"Wow," Chinatsu said with wide eyes, "tell him I said thanks."

Ari heaved a heavy sigh and said, "I guess he heard you…he's gone now though…" Ari then shook her head, fighting her grief as she grasped Chinatsu by the shoulders and said, "Mom, we need to gather Dad and the others quickly. I think there is a way we can beat the Juubi once and for all, but we're going to need some damn good sealers to help us pull this off."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then," Chinatsu grinned. She then took Ari's hand and the two leapt onto Kurama's head. But Chinatsu frowned as she did so, noting that her gorgeous fox was nothing more than a chakra cloak at the moment, "you're not fluffy anymore, dear!" she teased.

Kurama glared up at Chinatsu and said, "never mind that! Have you been freed?"

"Yes!" Chinatsu responded, "but can you pull away from this battle for a moment? Ari has a plan!"

* * *

**Ari**

I gathered Gyuuki and Bee, Dad and Naruto, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Mom, Sasuke, and the Hokage with the exception of Hashirama who continued to fight Madara and as quickly as I could, I explained, "Okay! For this to work, I need the Nara clan to hold the Juubi down for as long as they can with the shadow possession jutsu. Shikamaru, relay that to your men and wait for my signal!"

Shikamaru nodded and quickly left to gather his clan. I pointed to Minato and Kakashi and said, "you guys know Obito best, I need you two to take him down. I don't care how and I know he's your friend, but you guys are the only ones who can do this."

"Understood," Kakashi said in an urgent voice.

Minato-sensei grinned as he noted, "Ari, you've certainly grown up."

"As for the rest of us," I explained, "when the Juubi was trying to take mine and Hana's chakras, we heard the voices of the other Tailed Beasts. They're still alive in there, but we need to separate them if we're going to stop the Juubi."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Sasuke asked me skeptically.

"Tug-of-war," I grinned, eyeing Bee and Naruto, "and a hell of a lot of good sealing jutsu. Naruto and Bee, since you guys are familiar with the tug-of-war thing you guys did to gain control of Uncle Gyuuki and Dad, you can just do the same thing for this instance. Sasuke, I'm going to need your Susanoo, all you have to do is take hold of one of the Tailed Beasts' chakra and pull it out of the Juubi. Mom, you and I will use the Extraction seal to pull all seven of their individual chakras to the surface so Sasuke, Bee, Naruto, and the others can choose a tailed beast and latch onto it, then we will use our Chain Seal to pull our own beasts out. Do we know of anyone else who can use the chain seal?"

The others looked around and shook their heads. Minato-sensei spoke up and noted, "Kushina could, though there are very few in even the Uzumai clan that can use the Chain seal."

I cursed under my breath and said, "Aunt Mito could use it too, couldn't she Mom?"

Mom nodded her head in response and explained, "the Chain Seal is our strongest sealing jutsu, but only those with special chakra are able to use it. Ari, I think you and I are the only two on this earth currently who can."

But then, Tobirama spoke up, "I could revive Mito and this other woman with the Edo Tensei. That should help."

"Do it," I ordered, "now."

Tobirama glared at me, "I don't think you're in the position to be making orders, Half-Breed."

"Would you like me to shove your pride up your ass? Because I'm about to," I snarled back. Yay. My favorite Uncle Tobi…right up there with Shukaku. Best. Family. Ever. Shaking my anger off, I looked around, "wait…didn't Orochimaru bring you guys back? Where is he?"

Sasuke sighed and explained, "He's choosing not to partake in this war currently. He feels that since he is dead anyway he might as not get involved with the problems of the living."

"But you revived him," I narrowed my eyes.

"I did," Sasuke said, "but in order to give him his arms and ninjutsu back to use the Edo Tensei, he had to be used as a sacrifice to cut the belly of the Reaper Death Seal. Before the wound killed him, he summoned himself with the Edo Tensei along with the Hokage. As soon as he deactivates the jutsu, he'll disappear as well."

I rolled my eyes, "Lovely. Tobirama, are you going to summon Kushina and Mito or not?"

Groaning, Tobirama weaved hand signs and summoned two coffins. As the doors to those coffins fell to the ground, my aunt and my second mother stepped out, looking around horribly confused.

"Ari? Naruto?" Kushina blinked a few times, "you're grown up! And…Minato, what are you doing here?"

"We brought you guys back with the Edo Tensei," I explained quickly, "look, there's not a lot of time, but I need you both to use the Chain Seal."

Mito narrowed her eyes at me, confused, "Ariala…you should have died…but why do you need the Chain Seal?"

I pointed to the Juubi behind them and said, "we need to free my Dad's entire side of the family. Madara revived the Juubi by sealing seven of the nine tailed beasts and then used a portion of Dad's and Gyuuki's chakras to make an incomplete version of the monster." I then explained the rest of the plan to everyone before we broke. Kakashi and Minato left to face off Obito in one final battle while Hashirama still fought on with Madara. The seven of us then took our positions and I signaled Shikamaru to use the shadow possession. The Juubi's movements halted as the monster struggled in its own shadow's grasp. Mom and I lifted our hands and weaved the signs for the Extraction Seal, pulling the seven individual chakras to the surface.

"_Everyone!"_ I called out to the Bijuu with my mind, _"I need you to listen carefully. My friends and I are here to free you. We will each grab onto one of your chakras and attempt to pull it out of the Juubi, much like a jinchuuriki would attempt to control your power—as Naruto and Bee did. I need you to help us win this game of Tug-of-War, help us as best you can so we can separate you guys and save you, understand?"_

"_We got it!"_ Matatabi's voice rang out, _"just let us know when!"_

I then called out to the rest of my team and ordered, "we're going to go in order by number of tails starting with Shukaku! When someone grasps hold of his chakra, let me know! Ready!"

Dad leapt forward and grasped one of the Juubi's tails. Red chakra began to bubble to the surface as he called out, "Got him!"

"_Shukaku?"_ I asked, _"Do you have hold of Dad's chakra?"_

"_Yeah…"_ Shukaku barked grudgingly, _"Of all people…really Kurama?"_

"_Just shut up and let me help you for once, you drunken fool,"_ Dad barked back, _"And stay away from my wife!"_

I groaned and threw a chakra chain with a sealing tag on it as it wrapped around another of Juubi's tails, I felt a pool of chakra and began to lightly tug on it, Aunti Tabi then responded, _"I've got hold of you, dear!"_

"I got Matatabi!" I called out, "next up is Isobu, the three-tails!"

Sasuke charged forward and grasped hold of a tail with his Susanoo, he grunted as he pulled a portion of the turtle's chakra out and answered, "I got him!"

"Son Gokuu! The Four Tails!" I called.

"On it!" Bee answered

"And I will take Kokuo!" Mom released her Chain seal as she said that.

"And I will take the Six Tails," Mito said, "what was his name again?"

"Saiken!" Mom and I both responded.

Mito nodded and said, "Saiken? Can you grasp onto my chakra?" In response, a portion of chakra bubbled to the surface where her chakra chain was wrapped around the Juubi.

"And that leaves me with Lucky number 7!" Kushina cheered enthusiastically as she released her seal.

In response Aunt Choumei cheered, _"Hey! You know my nickname!"_

"On my mark, we'll pull them apart!" I ordered, "Bijuu! I need you to help us! One…two…three!" We all grasped hold of our assigned chakra and pulled as hard as we could. The Juubi thrashed in response, fighting against us, but the individual bijuu sealed away fought hard to free themselves, handing onto our chakra for dear life. After what felt like an unbearable amount of time, I heard the ear-splitting roar of the Juubi as it suddenly started to break apart.

My eyes widened in shock as a shockwave was released, blowing us all back several feet, as if the Ten-Tails had exploded. I hit the ground hard, coughing as the dust settled. When I looked up, I was amazed to find that where the Juubi once stood was all but a mountain of rubble. I stood and looked around, but where were the other Bijuu?

As if to answer my question, Madara stood up after the commotion, his eyes widening in both shock and rage. He want to attack Uncle Hashi out of anger, but a flash of blue came up from behind and slashed his arm off. Madara fell forward, hastily attempting to regenerate, his eyes full of a mild panic. Before him stood none other than Auntie Tabi who sauntered over to him with her hands on her hips, smirking devilishly as she said, "I think you've done enough damage for one day, sir!"

Son Gokuu came from out of the sky and landed beside his sister, "It's time for you to pay for what you've done, you sick bastard!"

Behind him, came the other tailed beasts standing before Madara in their human forms. My eyes widened as Mom came over and helped me to my feet. I looked over at Naruto who stood beside Sasuke and Kushina who also stared at me in shock.

"I think it's time to put on a show, Gyuuki I'm gonna let you free to go!" Bee rapped as he shrunk down back to normal. He placed his hand on his stomach and turned his seal counter clockwise. A mass of chakra came out from behind him and reformed into my uncle's human form. Gyuuki stared down at his hands and looked up at Bee in shock.

"Bee…but why?" Gyuuki asked.

Bee grinned, "Well you ain't killin me if I let you go free. On my own accord I say, this gonna be yo lucky day, my brotha!"

"Wait, you can do that?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

I nodded my head feebly, thinking back three years when Aunt Tabi first got pregnant with Hana. "Yeah…I think you can," I said, "Hana's father was Matatabi's jinchuuriki before Yugito and he let her go. But it was assassins who killed him, not releasing her."

Naruto gave me a big grin as he placed his hand over his own seal and released Dad. As he reformed next to Naruto, he looked around in shock and asked, "What on earth are you doing?"

"You aren't some monster fox, Kurama," Naruto answered, "you're my friend and comrade. And you're Ari's dad. You deserve to live freely, you don't need to be sealed away or exploited anymore."

Dad smiled and let out a laugh as he said, "Naruto…thank you." He then made his way over to Mom and I, his smiled growing bigger and bigger as he wrapped his arms around the two of us in a bear hug. I hugged my dad tightly, resting my head on his chest, giggling and allowing a tear to escape my eye.

Madara was sealed away and killed and Obito was tied up and brought forward with most of the army about ready to kill him. Naruto and I walked over to the man who glared back up at us. I knelt down in front of Obito and held out my hand.

"Are you done?" I asked, "It grows tiresome to be so full of hatred, you know."

"Don't bother showing me any sympathy, half-breed!" Obito spat back at me, "I could have created peace, I could have created a paradise where you could live happily with Itachi, why wouldn't you accept it?"

"Because paradise or not, it isn't real," I answered, "it would still only be a dream and everyone has to wake up from their dreams someday. It's better to have loved and lost to have never loved at all."

"And to have lost that love…" Obito looked away, "that pain is unbearable, so why?"

This time Naruto stepped in and answered, "because no matter how much it hurts to lose someone, there are so many others who still care about you and wish to look after you and make you happy. Itachi may be gone, but Ari and Sasuke still have me around. They have all of us from the Hidden Leaf!"

At that, Obito sighed heavily and shook his head, "Is that how it is then? Would I have just been happier if I had died back then? Or if I had accepted Rin's death and returned to Konoha?"

I shrugged, "No one can say, but you don't have to be lonely anymore. You don't have to fill yourself with so much hate where you love for Rin used to be. It doesn't have to be like this."

Obito smiled sadly and shook his head, "I've been in the darkness for too long…forgive me…I'll just get out of your way then."

"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow. But then, Obito slid out of the robes that bound him and ran away. We all chased after him, but as we did, I realized he had attached explosive tags to himself. "Obito! Stop!" I called out.

When he had gained a good distance from us he turned back and smiled, "Kakashi, you weren't the piece of trash after all. Thank you all, but it's time I leave." He continued to run until he was out of sight and moments later, we heard an explosion in the distance. Behind me a few people let out stifled screams of horror. My jaw dropped in shock, but Mother took a step forward and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"It was to be expected," she sighed heavily, "those who live past their time of death become a nuisance to the living, often times causing hardship and adversity to those they were once close to. And in the end, once they realized their mistake or once they've nearly destroyed all their bonds with people, they inevitably destroy themselves."

I looked up at Mom and gave her a suspicious look, "Alright…so does that mean…it's all over?"

Mom looked down and smiled at me as she said, "yes!"

I smiled in relief and as the realization that we won the war rippled throughout the army, cheers broke out amongst the crowd. I looked behind me and saw Hana wriggle her way past everyone to find me. She cheered wildly as she ran up to me and leapt into my arms shouting, "Mommy! You did it!"

I giggled as I spun Hana around, holding her tightly, "_We_ did it, sweetheart!" I kissed the top of her head and then looked up to find my Mom smiling warmly at us, her eyes slowly drifting into a memory. Naruto then came up from behind and threw his arms around me as if he were trying to get a piggy-back ride. I grunted as I staggered forward slightly, both of us laughing wildly. Kushina and Minato then came forward to see us, Kushina squealing.

"Ari! You've gotten so old!" she teased as she gave me a hug. She then looked at Hana and smiled, asking, "who's this?"

"Hana," I said, I then gave a grin and explained, "she's a little flower that came to Itachi and I like a miracle."

Kushina's eyes sparkled and said, "Itachi?"

"Yep," I answered.

Kushina then leapt into the air and squealed, "I so called it!"

At around that moment, Mito and Uncle Hashi stepped forward and began speaking to my mother and Dad stepped forward, arms crossed, and Kushina turned around, the two exchanging a brief staring conest.

"Kushina," Dad began.

Kushina in response narrowed her eyes and gave a sly smile and asked, "yes?"

In response, Dad gave her a warm smile and said, "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. I don't think she would be where she is today without you or Minato."

At that, Kushina jumped and her smirk fell as she and Minato exchanged confused looks. Minato then smiled and answered, "you're welcome…but thank you for allowing us to take care of her. She was a real joy."

I giggled and looked over to Naruto to find he was still grinning at me. I sighed and wrapped my arm around his shoulders, holding him tightly as I kissed the top of his head. In response, Naruto made a disgusted noise and tried to duck out of my grasp but I pulled him into a choke hold and teased, "you aren't getting away from me, Foxy-Boxers!"

"Why are you still calling me that?" Naruto whined, "I'm not your dad's jinchuuriki anymore!"

I laughed but then paused when I looked up and saw Auntie Tabi standing a few feet away from us, her eyes focused intently on Hana. I released Naruto and walked over to her. Hana lifted her head which had been resting on my shoulder and gazed at Auntie in awe. Neither of them had ever even seen each other yet. I smiled and held Hana out, in mild shock, Tabi took Hana into her arms and Hana smiled and said, "Hi Mother!"

As happy as I was for them, I couldn't help but feel my heart sink a little. Auntie smiled down at Hana and kissed her forehead and stroked her cheek gently, "Hello dear Hana."

Hana then turned back and looked at me a little confused, "Am I staying with Mother now?"

At that, my eyes widened and I could feel my heart break. Tabi then looked up at me, her expression a little hopeful. What was I supposed to say to that? I could tell them both 'no'. After all, I was the one raising Hana. But…I wasn't exactly her mom either…

Fighting the tears, I forced a smile and choked out, "If that's what you want, Hana."

Hana and Tabi's eyes both widened as the stared at me. Tabi breathed out, "Ari…"

"Auntie, you are Hana's mother after all," I explained. Unable to bear the sight of my flower in another person's arms (though really, she wasn't mine, I guess) I took a step back and said, "I'll let you two get to know each other, then."

Hana cocked her head to the side slightly confused, but oblivious to my pain she smiled and said, "Okay!" before turning back to face Tabi and asking her a plethora of questions. I walked back to my mother and the others numbly. Did I just…give up my daughter? I knew it was the right thing to do…but why did it hurt so much?

And to add insult to injury, as I looked around in the crowd gathered, I discovered the five kage had returned. Well, four of them at least. Everyone was relieved to see that they were alright after facing Madara alone, but the celebration skidded to a stop when they saw the Kazekage, the Mizukage, the Raikage, and the Tsuchikage working together to carry a stretcher with a wrapped up body.

"Granny Tsunade…" Naruto breathed out, staring at the stretcher, "What…happened?"

Gaara stepped forward and said in a solemn voice, "we were all dying, but she used the last of her chakra to save us. Her last words were asking us to protect Naruto and that she had no regrets. She died smiling."

After that, we all bowed our heads in a moment of silence to pay our respects to our fallen Hokage. Tears were shed for the rest who had fallen, but after about an hour, Tobirama finally stepped forward and said, "we should all probably go soon. We've overstayed our time on this earth already."

But then Mom stepped forward and said, "well, before we do, there is one last thing I want to do, if you all don't mind." The others who were resurrected nodded their heads in agreement and Mom turned to me and said, "I want to give you something."

I raised my eyebrow, slightly confused, "what?"

"Because Madara and the one who actually summoned me have been killed, I cannot return to my resting place by normal means. I can, however, exchange my soul for one that was taken before his time in order to die again," she explained.

My eyes widened and I asked, "you mean like…Ita?"

Mom then smiled and said, "yeah. He or really anyone who was killed in this war could be brought back to life. But in the state I am in, I can only revive one person."

A mixture of shock and indescribable joy began to well within me, but it was quickly shot down as, overhearing the conversation, Rock Lee leapt into the air and suggested, "we could bring Neji back!"

I frowned, Neji was a friend of Naruto's, a prodigy of the Hyuuga clan who gave his life to protect Naruto from one of the Juubi's attacks. He was also one who had been taken from this world far too soon.

Another Leaf shinobi stepped forward and suggested, "or Lady Tsunade! She is our Hokage after all!"

Before long, arguments broke out among those nearby enough to have heard what my mother had said. I looked around, realizing that there really was more than one person taken before their time—whatever that means—and frowning, I swallowed my tears back as I yet again forced myself to do the right thing. I whistled loudly to get everyone's attention and ordered, "STOP FIGHTING!" the group froze and turned to me as I took a deep breath and said, "I think it's only fair that we allow this world's savior, Naruto Uzumaki, to decide who can come back to life! Don't you all agree?"

Everyone looked around at each other but then nodded, turning their attention to Naruto. I walked over to Naruto and placed my hands on his shoulders as I faked a smile, "you're on, Naruto."

Naruto stared at me with wide eyes as he asked, "who should I bring back?"

"Whoever you want," I smiled, "Neji, Tsunade, anyone."

A small smiled began to form on Naruto's face as he nodded, and then gave me a big hug thanking me. As he turned to my mother to make a decision, I walked away from the rest of the group and towards the nearby trees. I needed to be alone, I didn't need to know who Naruto would bring back, it would be either one of those. I found a tree I could lean up against as I sat down. I hugged my knees to my chest, and with no idea of what to do with myself, I began to cry.

* * *

**Naruto**

He thought long and hard, so many people had died who didn't need to. So many people he cared about. And really, it didn't matter who Naruto brought back, there would still be some hurt feelings. But as long as everyone understood his reasons for bringing the person of his choice back, he knew it would be fine.

Though there was one name hanging in the back of his mind that he just couldn't ignore. One name that stood above all, and Naruto felt that this one name was that which would not be so easy to get over if he wasn't brought back to life.

Naruto turned to his friends and motioned for them to form a circle. Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Sai, Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Ten-Ten, and Lee all gathered and Naruto began by asking, "Sasuke, what are you going to do after this? Will you come back to the village?"

Sasuke shrugged, "I need some time to travel the world. There's a lot I still need to learn before I return home."

"But you won't destroy the village, regardless of who I bring back?" Naruto asked.

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke hesitantly shook his head, wondering where Naruto was going with this.

At that, Naruto smiled, his friend was finally back. But then Naruto turned his attention to everyone else and said, "Guys, I know we've lost a lot of friends in this war, but there is one person I absolutely have to bring back. We have to bring him back. We owe him that much."

At first, when Naruto told them the name of the person he had in mind, even when he told them the truth and why he wanted to bring this person back his friends jumped back in shock, "Naruto, that's crazy!" Shikamaru blurted out, "Look, I know what you said, and I understand where you're coming from, but will the rest of the village settle for this?"

"If you guys do, everyone else should," Naruto answered, "Please, guys. We owe it to him and his family. They deserve this."

Sighing heavily, Shikamaru nodded and said, "alright, but talk to the others first so they at least know what's going on."

Naruto nodded and then turned to face the army. He knew he wasn't supposed to speak about what had really happened, but he had no other choice as he said, "everyone! The person I wish to bring back from the dead is a person you probably are not expecting. Some of you might even be angry when I say his name, but what you all don't realize is that this person is a hero. The crimes he committed against the Hidden Leaf were only acting on orders to prevent civil war from breaking out. I can't tell you everything about that, but he was a hero who accepted disgrace in the place of honor and hatred in the place of love. Even then, he still died for the sake of the people he loved most. And furthermore, without this man, we probably would not have won the war. Will you help me bring this man back?"

As expected, the army was shocked when Naruto said the name of the person, but slowly, as Naruto continued to tell the tale of his fallen comrade, a few people came forward and started cheering as everyone came to an agreement. Smiling, Naruto looked to Sasuke who only stared at him in shock. Naruto then turned to Lady Chinatsu and asked, "Alright! Chinatsu, I know who we're going to bring back!"

* * *

**Ari**

I continued to cry as I buried my face into my knees. I froze, however, when I heard footsteps approaching. I paused and looked up to see Dad standing over me, a frown on his face.

"Can you just leave me alone?" I asked whimpering, "I know I shouldn't be like this but I just need a minute."

Ignoring my pleas, Dad took a seat beside me and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close. I lost it at that point and began to sob. I felt like such an idiot. We won the war, didn't we? Why was I so upset? I knew the moment Itachi returned to the village three years ago that if I were to confront him like I did, my life would not end the way I had planned it. Even Hana could not stay with me; I knew that from the get-go. I knew the consequences of loving a man who was out of my reach, and yet I still did. So why did I still feel so miserable?

"It's alright to be upset, Ari," Dad whispered in my ear, "mourning for a loved one is only natural, it's what makes us who we are."

"But I knew he was going to die," I cried, "and I've had more than one chance to say goodbye to him. It's been months since he first died so why does it still hurt so bad? Why does it hurt now more than ever?"

"It's as your mother said," Dad answered, "it was not his time."

"I still have no idea what that means," I sniffled, wiping my nose.

Sighing, Dad explained, "there are three types of people in this world: those who die too soon, those who refuse to die, and those who die precisely when they mean to. The majority of the world dies at the time they are meant and within those people is a spectrum of those who are full of greed and those who are completely selfless. But on the extremes of either end come two other groups. Those who are so full of greed that they refuse to die at their destined time usually manage to stay alive by taking the life of another in their place. These people become hazardous to those around them and are extremely difficult to get rid of, even when their existence could mean the destruction of the world around them. But they do not care, they just want all the power and the life they can take. Madara is a good example of this. But then there is the exact opposite. There are people who are so selfless, that they are not only willing to give their life for the sake of others, but they go out of their way to sacrifice themselves so people they may not even know can be happy, regardless of whether or not that sacrifice is necessary. This is what Itachi is, and Ari, you would have been the same way if it weren't for Itachi's will and your promise to stay with Hana. These people die far too soon, and usually it can be at the hands of the greedy, and when they die, it is far worse than if anyone else were to die. If an average person dies, though the loss is painful, the friends and family that person left behind can heal the wound of their loss with the support and love which surrounds them. But if the selfless die too soon, those wounds do not heal. Although you are strong enough to move on with your life, you will never be able to recover from the loss of Itachi because you cared so much for him and because he gave his life when he shouldn't have needed to."

"Oh great," I whaled, "and I had the chance to bring him back…but I didn't….what kind of person am I?"

"A selfless one, just like Itachi," Dad smiled sadly, "and just like your mother. You did the right thing, if you had asked to bring Itachi back, there would have been an uproar because people simply do not know the truth, but you sacrificed your own happiness so the rest of the world can be content. You have such a kind heart, Ari, and I'm very proud of you, but it also hurts to see you suffering so much."

"I'm sorry," I whimpered, leaning against Dad. I felt so helpless…I should be stronger than this…

"Don't be," Dad said as he kissed the top of my head, "the life of a selfless person is hard, but there is still reward that can come from it, you know."

I looked up at Dad and narrowed my eyes, wiping tears away, "what do you mean?"

At around that moment, Hana and Tabi came up to us and Hana leapt into my arms cheering, "Mommy! Mommy! You have to come see!"

"Hana?" I asked in disbelief, "Why are you still calling me, 'Mommy'?"

"Because, silly, you are my mommy!" Hana giggled. She then stood and grasped hold of my hand, "now come on! I have to show you something!"

I looked at Tabi, confused and said, "but…you're her mom, Tabi…"

At that, Auntie broke out into a fit of laughter and said, "No I'm not, Ari! I'm her mother, but I'm not her mom. Hana was always meant to be with you. I just helped her get here."

At that, my eyes widened and I asked stupidly, "so…she can stay…with me?"

"Of course she can!" Tabi smiled, "what, did you think that just because you freed me that I was going to take your daughter away from you? I'm not some monster, Ari! Besides, I was never cut out to be a mom, I prefer being the favorite aunt anyway!"

I couldn't help but smile as I pulled Hana into my arms and hugged her tightly. Hana groaned and pushed away, taking my hand, "Mommy! Come on!"

"Okay, okay!" I snapped, "where are we going?"

"You have to see who Uncle Naruto brought back!" Hana cheered. At that I frowned. I knew it was either going to be Neji or Tsunade…couldn't I just see them when I wasn't an emotional wreck? But as we stepped out of the trees, we were all greeted by a round of applause. I looked behind me to see who they were clapping for, but when Dad and Auntie shoved me forward, I suddenly realized that they were clapping for me. Why? Like hell I knew!

"What's going on?" I asked as Hana led me forward. As we walked, the crowd separated and created a path for us. We were then greeted by each of the tailed beasts who patted me on the shoulder as I walked past, cheering me on. Uncle Hashi and Aunt Mito stepped forward to give me a hug, telling me how proud they were to be my aunt and uncle. I looked behind and found that Auntie Tabi had joined the other bijuu, but Dad followed closely behind me, grinning wildly. I then looked back forward and Kushina and Minato stepped forward to stop me.

"Ari," Kushina smiled as she gave me a hug, "I'm so proud of you…and thank you for taking care of Naruto."

I was at a loss for words as I hugged Kushina back. She then let go of me and allowed Minato to embrace me. As he took a step back, I was greeted by Sasuke who stood with his arms crossed. He blinked several times and avoided eye contact as if he were trying not to cry.

"Why so emotional, Duckbutt?" I teased, placing my hands on my hips.

"I'm not emotional!" Sasuke snapped back.

I chuckled, "you react just like your brother, you know."

At that Sasuke smiled, though he was trying to hide it, and he gave me a quick and slightly awkward hug as he said, "I'm sorry…about everything."

"Don't be," I said, brushing his bangs out of his face, "I'm just glad you're with us again, and safe too."

"Thank you," Sasuke nodded as he stepped out of the way. I took another step forward and was greeted by both my mom and Naruto. Dad then stepped in front of me and turned to face me as he placed his arm around Mom, a smile on his face. Naruto ran up to me giggling as he threw his arms around me.

"Ari, you're the best, you know that?" he asked me.

"Naruto…" I breathed in shock, "I'm not that good, but thank you."

"Are you kidding me," Naruto pushed me back, grinning, "thanks to you, I'm not lonely anymore like I was when I was a kid. And now I can say that I have two moms looking out for me!"

My eyes widened and I glanced back at Kushina who was smiling brightly, then Naruto continued as he embraced me again, "thanks for being such a great mom, Ari…I mean, Mom."

"You don't have to call me Mom, Naruto," I chuckled, fighting the tears, "it's weird coming from you."

"Okay good!" Naruto laughed. He then looked back at my parents and then stepped away. Mom stepped forward and gave me a big hug.

"Ariala, I'm so proud of you," she said, "you've grown up to be such a beautiful woman and you've impacted so many lives in ways I could only dream of. Thank you for being my daughter, and thank you for being born to us."

"Mom…" I breathed out, starting to lose it all over again. She then stepped away and she and Dad joined the others who were behind me. My gaze followed her as I faced everybody. "Why are you all telling me this?" I asked, "and Naruto…who did you bring back anyway?"

"Turn around and look!" Mom teased. Curious, I turned my head back to see the last person standing before me, but when I did I let out a scream and I covered my mouth, fighting to stay standing as the tears poured out of my eyes.

"ITACHI!" I sobbed. In response, Ita laughed and held out his arms as he took a step towards me. Without thinking, I ran up to him and threw my arms around him, surprising him and knocking off balance a little. He was wearing the tunic and pants he wore under his Akatsuki cloak, the same one he had on when he died. He needed a shower (but then again, we all did) but I buried my head into his chest and listened to his heart. His beautiful, normally beating heart!

"I'm home," he whispered gently in my ear, "I hope you didn't miss me too much."

"Oh my god!" was all I could choke out as I sobbed. I then looked up at him and placed my hands around his face, looking him over. He was missing his leaf headband and necklace, both of which I had. And his eyes…well, first of all he had eyes! "But how…? And…your heart…your eyes!"

Mom then stepped forward and placed her hand on my shoulder explaining, "Itachi, you were really beat up, let me tell you. I used my powers and was able to give him a new, healthy, heart and I transplanted Sasuke's eyes into his, so now both brothers have the Eternal Mongekyo, and neither of you will end up going blind."

"You can do that?" I asked stupidly, "as in…swap eyes?"

"Sure you can!" Mom smiled, "as long as both pairs are intact."

I exhaled a breath of air it seemed I had been holding since Ita first got sick as I looked up at him, he was so beautiful. I started crying all over again as I hugged him tightly. Ita held me close, chuckling as he himself were trying to fight the tears. This couldn't be real. Were we certain that Obito hadn't won the war and cast his genjutsu on the moon?

I then turned back to Naruto, holding Itachi tightly and asked, "But…why, Naruto? You couldn't have done this all for me!"

"Sure I could!" Naruto grinned, "and Sasuke too! You and Itachi both sacrificed so much for the sake of the village and the world…you guys at least deserve a happy ending."

I whimpered as I stepped forward to pull Naruto in a tight hug as I spun him around, the boy completely off guard, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Several people stepped forward and to my surprise, they all came to pay Ita and I their respects and welcome Ita back to the Leaf. I couldn't believe this. This was just too good to be true. The entire time, Hana was resting happily in my father's arms, enjoying the sight of her parents together again, but after a while, she grew impatient and jumped out of Dad's arms and ran to mine and Itachi's.

"See! I told you that you'd like the surprise!" Hana giggled as I scooped her up.

I laughed, wiping the tears that wouldn't stop and said, "you're right, Hana! You're so right!"

Hana then giggled and turned to Itachi as she held her arms out. Ita took her in his arms, letting out a relieved chuckle as he held his little flower close. I looked over to see Sasuke watching us hesitantly. I narrowed my eyes at him and motioned for him to come over. Heaving a heavy sigh, Sasuke stepped forward and said, "Itachi?"

Ita looked up, his face lighting up at the sight of his little brother. He didn't give Sasuke time to speak as he pulled the boy into a tight embrace cheering, "Ah! I missed you so much, my little brother!"

At that, Sasuke's eyes widened as he began to cry. He wrapped his arms around Ita for a moment and then pulled away as he rubbed his eyes, trying to keep from losing his masculinity. Sasuke then looked at Hana skeptically and smirked, "so…this is your kid?"

"Yeah," Ita responded as he introduced, "Hana, meet Sasuke."

"Oh I already know him," Hana announced, patting Sasuke's head, "and his name isn't Sasuke, it's Uncle Duckey!"

At that, Sasuke's grin fell and he glared at Hana, "What?"

"You're hair looks like a duck! I already told you this, Uncle Duckey!" Hana explained, completely serious. At that I pitched forward and started laughing so hard I could barely stay standing. Soon, everyone else started laughing, the atmosphere full of joy.

"Great," Sasuke pouted, crossing his arms, "another Ari."

"Oh come on!" I teased, patting the boy's back, "you know you love us!"

"Yeah…unfortunately I do…" Sasuke groaned as everyone else laughed. We all stood around and visited, but pretty soon, it was time for the resurrected to go.

Kushina and Minato gave Naruto and I a hug goodbye, then Kushina looked up at Itachi and grinned, "Itachi, I just want you to know that I called it. Your mom and I knew you two were going to get married, but your dad didn't believe me. But I was right, and I'm going to tell him so."

Itachi chuckled. At this point he held Hana with one arm and wrapped the other arm around me as he said, "You know, I saw that picture you took of Ari and I when we were four now that you mention it. And Mother wouldn't stop talking about that bet you two made with Father."

"Good!" Kushina grinned.

I then looked at her and mentioned, "and I've been keeping up with that scrapbook you started, Kushina-sensei. I've got a few more pages left before it's finished."

At that, Kushina smiled and said, "I'm glad to hear it. And I'm glad you two can finally be together. Take care!"

And with that, Kushina, Minato, Mito, and the other Hokage all dissipated as their souls vanished. Mom was the last one to go. She came over with Dad, and they shared a group hug with us as Mom bid her final goodbyes. She then turned to Dad and, standing on her tip-toes gave him one last kiss, departing as she did so. Her soul lifted into the air and Dad's gaze followed her as she disappeared, a smile on his face. Dad then looked back at Ita, Hana, and I and his smile grew even bigger as he went over and slapped Ita on the back.

"Welcome to the family, Itachi!" he greeted heartily, sounding a little like Son Gokuu as he did so.

Ita grunted and looked up nervously as he realized that his father-in-law was the Nine-Tailed Fox now on the loose. He smiled and said, "Th-thank you, sir."

"Oh, cut the formalities!" Dad barked, "That's Kurama to you! Unless you get on my bad side in which case it will be Lord Kurama almighty sir!"

"Dad!" I scolded, "behave yourself."

"Hey! I didn't get to run parent's approval on him when you guys first started dating! I need to set the boundaries you know!" Dad retorted. I shook my head as I rolled my eyes. Soon after, we returned to Konoha, and with several casualties and the village still in need of some rebuilding, we had to go straight to work as soon as we returned home. Itachi and I had to reenlist into the ANBU to pick up some slack while the village stabilized, all five great nations having to reformat their government system slightly to help maintain the new peace that had settled throughout the world.

After the funerals were over, Itachi and I were finally able to get married. It was a simple ceremony, nothing to big, but finally, _finally_, we were able to say our wedding vows to one another.

Until death do us part. And even after death, we would still be together as we were able to prove.

However, there was still the issue of electing a Hokage. The two advisors approached Ita and I one day as we were busy moving into our new house, Homura was the first to speak as he said, "Itachi, as you are well aware we are in need of a new Hokage. I don't know if you know this but, the Third Hokage praised you highly and wanted you to succeed him."

Itachi didn't give either elder the chance to ask the question as he lifted his hand and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. It's not my place to."

"But you are one of the most qualified shinobi for the job," Koharu said, "you've done more for this village than any shinobi could ever dream of. After all the sacrifices you made, this is the highest honor we can give you. Won't you please accept it?"

"I don't need any honor or special recognition," Itachi said, "besides, I'm not well-known enough to the rest of the village to be able to take that role on and maintain their respect. And I'm not the only qualified shinobi for the job. There is one other who I think can do better than I. He may be young, but he's the right one for the job."

I smiled and shook my head. This was so like Itachi, he was so humble.

"You can't mean Naruto Uzumaki, can you?" Koharu asked. She then shook his head, "Itachi, believe me, we considered him as well but he is still inexperienced, there is much he has to learn before he is ready for the position. So much that you could teach him before he steps forward as the Hokage."

"Which is why I will act as the Sixth Hokage's personal advisor," Itachi answered, catching the two elders off-guard, "I believe there is an opening for that position, isn't there? That was Danzo's official title after all, even though he did more with Root."

Koharu and Homura looked at each other and nodded as Homura said, "very well. If that's what you think should be done, we will trust you."

And not long after that, we were all standing beside Naruto at his coronation ceremony. I had tears in my eyes as I watched Naruto finally realize his dream, the entire village of Konoha cheering him on. And shortly after that, Sasuke left the village again.

"I need more time to learn," he explained, "it's still hard for me to understand the importance of this village and I think by seeing the world I can finally understand."

"Do what you need to do, Sasuke," Itachi said, "and know you can come home whenever you need to."

With all of that said and done, life slowly started to settle down. We had a house, a new Hokage, and we could all sit down at the table together and eat dinner. But most of all, Ita and I finally had each other. The night when we finally got all of our stuff moved into the new house, we had gone out to dinner to celebrate. On our way home, Hana held each of our hands as Ita and I swung her around and skipped most of the way home. Hana bolted into the house and ran upstairs to her bedroom but as I tried to enter, Itachi scooped me into his arms and carried me in the front door bridal style. He ran up the stairs and into our rooms, setting me gently on the bed, kissing my neck passionately.

"Ita…" I gasped, pleasantly surprised, "what's all this for?"

Ita sat up and grinned, "I'll explain after we tuck Hana in."

I rolled my eyes and sat back up. Once Hana was asleep we went back to our room and Ita locked the door behind him. He then picked me up again and gently set me down as we shared a long and passionate kiss. Ita broke away from me panting as he said, "Today, my love, is the start of the rest of our lives. No coup d'état, no Akatsuki, no wars, and most importantly, no heart problems on my part."

A small smiled crept up on my face as I realized what he was getting at. Giggling, we pulled each other's clothes off and spent the rest of the night intertwining ourselves in the net of love as we gave ourselves to each other, ready to finally spend our lives together and love each other as true lovers should.

* * *

Like I said...Ita is now Jesus apparently O_o And There's one more chapter left! And possibly a sequel but I don't know yet!


	26. Epilogue

Welp...I guess this is it, guys...I'm actually kind of sad right now. Do you have any idea how emotionally attached I've gotten to my characters in this fic? Well, anyway, thanks for sticking with me! And I've decided...I'm doing a sequel. When that will be, I have no idea, but it will happen...eventually. But anyway, thanks again for joining me on this journey with Ari and Ita! It's been fun!

ENJOI

* * *

**Ari**

_"Hi," the boy said, "I'm Itachi, do you want to be my friend?"_

_"I'm Ari," I said._

_"Hi, Ari, what would you like to play?" Itachi asked._

_"Well," I shifted around nervously, "I don't really know how to play…"_

_Itachi cocked his head to the side a bit in confusion, but then he smiled again and held out his hand._

_"That's okay! I'll show you," he offered sweetly._

* * *

_"Ita…?" I asked, "Is there something you aren't telling me?"_

_"Hm," Itachi shook his head, "No."_

_"You're humming," I pointed out. And just like every time I've said something about it, every time since we were kids, Ita grimaced, his eyes narrowing as he pushed down a red face. It still cracked me up how I could get him like that. But then he did something I wasn't expecting in the slightest._

_At first Ita shook his head furiously, biting his lip. His eyes watered a little as he began, "It's just that I thought..I…" He then made the mistake of finally meeting my gaze, and I saw the anguish that flooded his dark, beautiful eyes. When we made eye contact, his face contorted as he choked out a sob, turning his head downward to hide his tears. "I thought I'd lost you…!"_

_And with that, he pulled his bad arm out of the sling and grasped the back of my head with his free hand and pulled me to his chest as he cried. "I'm sorry, I…I don't know what's wrong with me but…I couldn't stand the thought of you dying! And when they wheeled you into the operating room to extract the poison…when they took you away from me…I didn't know what I was going to do if you died…."_

* * *

_Ita looked at me with sad eyes, "but what if…but Ari, what if I get worse? What if I become only a nuisance to you? You shouldn't waste your time trying to take care of me then. Why don't you just spare yourself the heartbreak and move on?"_

_I shook my head. Where was all this coming from? "Ita," I said, "we don't know that will happen. And even if it did, I wouldn't be wasting my time. I'm going to stand by your side. No matter what happens. We'll get through this together. I promise."_

_"But why?" Ita asked, "why go to such great lengths for me?"_

_I shrugged, "I don't know…I guess…well…you know wedding vows? Well…I've always loved the meaning behind them. 'to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.' I think those vows are beautiful and are the ultimate testament for one's love for a person. I want to stand by you, Itachi, in sickness and in health. I want to be by your side for better or for worse until death do us part. You can't change my mind once I've committed to something. And I'm committing to you."_

_"Ari…" Ita stared at me with wide eyes. He grasped my hand tightly and took a deep breath as he said, "go reach into the pocket on the inside of my Akatsuki cloak."_

_I raised an eyebrow, confused but did as he asked. I fumbled through his coat pockets and found a small box hiding inside. I pulled it out, eyeing it, confused. Itachi got out of bed, and walked towards me. "What is inside this thing?" I asked._

_"Open it and see," Itachi breathed. I pulled the box open and gasped. Tucked neatly inside was a golden ring with a sparkling diamond resting at the top. I looked at Itachi and opened my mouth to speak, but I was at a loss for words. He took my hands in his and knelt down on the ground before me. "I know we're young…and I know we haven't been together for that long…and honestly, I was hoping to do this in a much more romantic situation than this but…life is short. I don't know when or where we'd be able to get married so I'm going to ask you now."_

_My eyes watered as I held down a lump in my throat. I eyed him, shaking as I said, "then go ahead and ask."_

_Ita took in a deep breath and said, "Ariala Uzumaki, will you take me to be your lawfully wedded husband, until death do us part?"_

* * *

_"Ari, no matter what happens, no matter what hell or high waters may await us," Itachi began, "but I promise to stand by your side and protect you and Hana with my life until the day I die. But even in death, I will not leave you. You may not be able to see me, but I will be there, guiding you towards happiness. I will carry you when you are no longer able to stand, and I will sing to you when you are unable to sleep, and I will hold you in my arms, protecting you from harm for the rest of eternity. And I will do the same for Hana, loving her as a father should. You may not know it, you may move on and find new love, and I may become nothing more than a painful memory. In fact, I hope that's one day the case, but I will always be there, watching over you. Do you understand?"_

* * *

_"You've done plenty already," Itachi sighed. He pulled away from me and then lied down on his back, looking up at the ceiling. I lied on my side, resting my head in my propped up hand as I stroked his face. "Why have you stuck with me for so long?" he asked suddenly, "surely you and Hana would be happier without me the way I am now. I'm a nuisance…"_

_"Uh-uh," I shook my head, "don't start that." Ita had been going through this depressed funk ever since he stopped going on missions. He started questioning his worth and would practically beg for me to leave him to die. He saw himself only as a nuisance, a waste of my time, what he didn't understand, however, was that this was the only way I could see myself spending the time we had left together: at his side, aiding him in whatever way I could. "Remember the wedding vows?"_

_"Ari, I—"_

_"Remember what they say?"_

_Ita sighed heavily, blinking away tears, "Yes…"_

_"In sickness and in health," I told him, holding his hand tightly._

_"Until death do us part," he finished. We said those two phrases of the vows whenever either one of us started to grow weary._

_"__After__ death will we part," I assured him, kissing him gently._

* * *

*I'm…alive…? But how?*_ I thought, but I could feel myself drifting in an out of consciousness. As I attempted to regain consciousness, sharp pains would stab me everywhere as my body begged for me to give up. I was floating between a state of life and death, the only thing that was keeping me alive was this pair of arms which pulled me to my feet, cradling me gently._

*You didn't actually think I wouldn't keep my promise, did you?* _A voice whispered inside my head. I-Itachi…? I must've been dead or dreaming. Itachi's voice chuckled at my confused thoughts and he said, _*You don't have to fight to stay standing anymore. Let me carry you and I will protect you.*

* * *

_"Mom…" I breathed out, starting to lose it all over again. She then stepped away and she and Dad joined the others who were behind me. My gaze followed her as I faced everybody. "Why are you all telling me this?" I asked, "and Naruto…who did you bring back anyway?"_

_"Turn around and look!" Mom teased. Curious, I turned my head back to see the last person standing before me, but when I did I let out a scream and I covered my mouth, fighting to stay standing as the tears poured out of my eyes._

_"ITACHI!" I sobbed. In response, Ita laughed and held out his arms as he took a step towards me. Without thinking, I ran up to him and threw my arms around him, surprising him and knocking off balance a little. He was wearing the tunic and pants he wore under his Akatsuki cloak, the same one he had on when he died. He needed a shower (but then again, we all did) but I buried my head into his chest and listened to his heart. His beautiful, normally beating heart!_

_"I'm home," he whispered gently in my ear, "I hope you didn't miss me too much."_

* * *

**2 Years After the Fourth Great Ninja War**

"First day of school! First day of school!" Hana cheered as she jumped onto our bed one morning, forcing Ita and I to wake up. The sun danced on my eye lids as I awakened, part of me still lying in the dream world as memories of my time with Ita flashed through my mind. It and I were both lying on our sides, my back to his front and his arm wrapped around me. Hana jumped onto Ita first and tried to shake him awake, "Come on guys! Today's the entrance ceremony!"

"Okay, okay," Ita groaned, "I'm up!"

"No you're not!" Hana protested, "Your eyes are still closed!"

I turned my head to look back at Hana and asked, "What time is it…?"

"It's time to get up!" Hana cheered as she jumped from Ita to me. I let out an "oof!" and grimaced as she kicked my side on accident. I rolled on to my back, groaning as I struggled underneath the weight of the baby growing inside my womb.

"Hana, be careful," Dad scolded as our little flower climbed on top of me, "be gentle with your mother."

"I am!" Hana responded as she wrapped her arms around me, trying to get me to wake up, "but it's time for school!"

Sighing heavily, I pushed myself up to a sitting position, leaning some of my weight onto my hands as I said, "okay, I'm up!"

"Yay!" Hana cheered as she ran out of the room to pick out the clothes she wanted to wear. I smiled to myself as I struggled to stand. I looked down as I placed on hand against my back for balance and the other one underneath my stomach as the baby kicked inside. I frowned. I couldn't see my feet.

"Come on, Ita, time to get up," I said, waddling over to the bathroom.

"Five more minutes…" Ita groaned, taking one of my pillows and placing it over his head.

"Hey! If the pregnant woman can get up, so can you!" I teased.

"You're just up because you have no bladder," Ita retorted.

"And whose fault is that?" I raised an eyebrow.

Ita was silent for a long time before he finally sat up and groaned, "you win. I need to take a shower though…"

"_After_ I pee!" I pointed my finger at Ita, glaring at him. No one got in the way of me and the bathroom when the baby started kicking. No one.

"Yes ma'am," Ita squirmed. He then reached out and pulled me into a hug, kissing my forehead as he whispered, "I love you!"

"I'll love you more if you let me pee," I sighed, my mind focused on only one thing.

"Right," Ita let go of me and we both got ready. I went through just about my entire closet before I could find something to wear that at least looked decent. My mood swings kicking in, I just about broke down in tears, feeling abnormally round and disgusting. Ita sat on the bed as he waited patiently for me to pick something. When I had just about given up, and rested my forehead on the mirror, my smooth-talking husband came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, gently rubbing my stomach as he cooed, "you look beautiful, regardless of what you're wearing or how your hair is. You don't have to impress anybody because the world already is."

"I'm so…fat!" I grimaced, staring down at my pregnant self. I was only six months along and I already looked like I was full-term.

"You aren't fat, Ari, there's a baby in there. And you're as beautiful as ever," Ita reassured. I smiled up at him, feeling better. He then bent down and kissed me on the lips and we shared a long embrace. I then hobbled downstairs to fix Hana some pancakes for breakfast. Itachi fixed her a lunchbox and put it in her backpack. I then helped Hana braid her hair and before we knew it, we were off for Hana's entrance ceremony at Ninja Academy. Tabi and Dad met us there and we all celebrated Hana's first steps at becoming a shinobi. She went around and met the kids in her class, she was excited to discover that our neighbor who Hana absolutely loved to play with, Kai Senju, was in the same class as her. And, they both had Iruka-sensei as their instructor.

"Okay, just one more picture!" I begged, "you and Kai together with Iruka. Come on…please?"

"Mom!" Hana crossed her arms embarrassed, "you already took a bunch…"

"But I need more!" I protested, "I'm cherishing this moment!"

"Okay, just one more," Hana said. She and Kai wrapped their arms around each other and smiled as I took a picture.

I then looked up at Ita and said, "now you get in there!"

"_Mom!_" Hana smacked her hand to her face, her cheeks turning red.

"I can't help myself!" I pleaded, "please? For you pitiful and pregnant mom?"

"How many more?" she groaned.

"I don't know," I shrugged.

"Not too many more," Ita answered for me, looking at his watch, "Ari you have a doctor's appointment in less than an hour."

"Then quickly get into the picture, Ita," I ordered, snapping my fingers. Itachi groaned and I took a picture of him and Hana together. Then Hana and Auntie Tabi. Then Hana and Dad. Then I found Naruto and dragged him into a picture with Hana. Then I got all of them. And then Kai's mom, Kana, offered to take the camera and got a picture with all of us together.

"Are we done yet?" Hana asked, "classes will be starting soon…"

"Ari, we do need to go," Ita coaxed me, wiggling the camera out of my grasp.

I groaned, rolling my eyes and said, "Fine!" I then bent down (as best as I could) and gave Hana one last goodbye before she and Kai ran into the school to start their first day at the Academy and Ita and I went to the hospital for my appointment to finally see what gender our baby was. If it was a boy, Itachi claimed that he promised Shisui to name his son after him. I never made any promises to Saya, but if it was a girl, we might as well name her after my best friend too.

My jaw dropped however, as we stared at the ultrasound to find not one, but two babies. One boy and one girl. The doctor then took the time to explain to us that multiples presented a risk of being born premature and that I could technically go into labor within the next month or so, and we went through formalities. She then left the room and left Ita and I alone. My shirt still pulled up to expose my stomach, I placed my hand on my belly, rubbing it subconsciously as I said in a daze, "Shisui _and_ Saya…I guess we get both of them!"

Itachi let out a laugh as he covered his face, trying to hide the fact that he was getting emotional. He then composed himself and placed his hand on mine as he smiled down at me and said, "I love you so much."

I smiled back at him and giggled as he leaned down to kiss the side of my stomach Saya was on and then the side where Shisui was. He then stood up and kissed me gently on the lips and I reached up to stroke his cheek as he did so. Five years ago, when he first proposed to me, I didn't know it was possible to love Itachi any more than I did then. But as the years passed and our family grew, my feelings for him back then seemed miniscule compared to how deep my love for this man had grown to be.

Even though there was a risk of premature delivery, I reached full term. Actually, I didn't go into labor until two weeks after my due date, and when I did I was so huge I could barely walk. It was a Saturday morning in early November. I was waddling around the kitchen trying to tidy up the house as most of our family was coming over for dinner later that night. Itachi was out running errands and off to pick Hana up from school when I felt a sharp cramp stab me in the side.

"Agh…" I grunted, bending forward a little as I held my stomach. It went away though, and I returned to my chores. I made it into the living room and was looking for the vacuum when I nearly fell over as sharp pains attacked my side again. I let out a scream as I fell onto the couch. I didn't know what exactly was going on, but as the pains continued, I realized that it was time. I staggered over to the nearest phone and called Ita. I heard him pick up his cell phone and didn't give him a chance to answer it when I asked, "where are you?"

"At school waiting for Hana to come out," he answered .

"Has school let out yet?"

"No, we've still got another fifteen minutes. I'm just sitting out here talking with some other parents."

"Dammit!"

At that, alarm raised in Ita's voice as he asked a little urgently, "what's wrong?"

"They're coming!" was all I could manage before a contraction came on, much worse than the previous cramps that came before. It took all my strength in that moment to keep from screaming and blowing Ita's ear drums out.

"Oh!" Ita choked out, "Okay…uh…stay there, I'll come to get you."

"Well it's not like I can go anywhere else!" I snapped at him. On the other end, I heard Itachi talking to Kana, asking her to take Hana home once school was out. He then got back on the phone with me and told me to hang tight. We lived five minutes away from the Academy, but it felt like hours before Ita finally ran into the front door, sprinting up and down the stairs like a maniac.

"Okay, I'll pack your things for the hospital!" he said over and over again, "do you want an extra change of clothes? A book? What?"

"Let's just GO!" I roared as my contractions worsened. Ita jumped in response and helped me stand, leading me out the door. We rushed to the hospital and checked me in, and an hour later I was lying on a hospital bed with my legs spread open, screaming. And to make things worse, we found when they attempted to give me an epidural that anesthesia didn't work on half-breeds. Which meant no C-section. Which meant I was stuck pushing TWO babies out through the natural birthing process. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!" I whaled, glaring at Itachi as I clutched his hand for dear life.

Trying not to let his feelings get hurt, Ita stroked my hair gently and assured, "you're doing great Ari, just hang in there!"

"You can tell me to hang in there when you're lying in a bed pushing two watermelons out of you!" I snapped back at him. Ita grimaced and said nothing after that. Shizune sighed heavily and sat back as the contraction ebbed away and I was able to relax a little more.

"Not yet," she said, "probably by the next contraction, you'll be able to push."

I groaned and leaned my head back, are those two ever going to come out? I had been alternating between normal contractions and back contractions throughout my labor, and my entire spine was aching and tensed. I pursed my lips together as I tried not to cry from the pain. "This sucks," I mustered.

"I know," Ita said gently, rubbing my cheek with his thumb, "are you in any pain?"

"My back hurts," I complained. Shizune then stepped forward and placed her hand behind my shoulder.

"If you sit up and hold onto a pillow, we could massage your back and make you more comfortable," she offered. Feeling defeated, I did as she suggested and I leaned forward, asking Ita to rub my back for me. That man's hands were magical. Even in the pain I was in, he nearly managed to put me to sleep. But fifteen minutes later, another series of contractions started again, these were the worst of all. I screamed several times and suddenly Shizune said, "Ari, get ready to push."

"I'm not ready!" I spat back, trying to find a way to position myself so it wouldn't hurt so much. But of course it didn't matter if I was ready or not, those little brats wanted out, and they wanted out right then and there. I let out a scream as I pushed as hard as I could. I could feel a head sprout out as I took a pause to breath. It was the strangest feeling I had ever experienced in my life. And that included when my soul was sucked out of me.

"You're almost there, Ari, I can see the head," Shizune encouraged. I groaned. "Almost there" really meant, "Almost half-way there." There didn't seem to be an end to this! I grunted as I pushed more, and within a few moments, I heard the cries of a newborn baby. I gasped, panting as I stared up at the ceiling, listening to the cries, allowing a tear to escape my eye.

"Saya!" Itachi breathed, in shock. Shizune then brought the baby girl over to me so I could see her and she laid the baby on her stomach against me and I placed my hand on Saya's back, kissing the top of her head.

"Oh my goodness," I whimpered, "I finally get to see you, gorgeous…"

Before I could really bond with my newborn daughter, another contraction struck me and Shizune took Saya away and handed her to one of the nurses to get cleaned up. Exhausted, I mustered up the strength to give birth to my little man. I cried when I saw Shisui as he came out kicking and screaming. My babies were born, and they were healthy. What had started with a dream of a flower had blossomed into three beautiful children Itachi and I could call our own. There was nothing more that I could have asked for. As they cleaned Shisui up, Shizune brought over a pink baby bundle. I held my arms out as she placed Saya in them and I stared down in awe at the beautiful little girl as she slept with her hands curled into fists. She had rosy cheeks and dark fluffy hair. When they brought Shisui over, I handed Saya over to Itachi and the big lug started crying, "she looks just like you…she's so beautiful!"

I giggled as I traced my finger along Shisui's nose. He looked exactly like Itachi, only without the high nose ridges. I chuckled to myself as I shook my head and wondered where my genes had gone to in that little boy. I leaned my head back against my pillow, completely exhausted as I fought to keep my eyes open. Itachi stared down at our infants and then kissed my head as he asked, "can I bring Hana in here? She'll want to meet her new brother and sister."

I nodded and Itachi poked his head out of the room and into the hallway where Hana, Dad, Tabi, Naruto, and Sasuke all waited for us. I heard him say, "Hana? Can you come in here for a bit?"

I heard Hana's flip-flops clap as she raced to the room and swung open the door, smiling from ear to ear. Her look of excitement then changed to awe as she stared at the little boy in my arms. She then looked up at the little girl in her Daddy's arms as Ita took her hand and led her to my bed. Hana sat on my lap and stared at Shisui with wide eyes. Itachi sat down next to her and kissed the top of her head as he introduced, "Saya, Shisui, do you two want to meet your big sister?"

"Hi guys," Hana waved shyly, her cheeks flushing a light pink. She then turned towards Ita who held Saya out to her.

"Do you want to hold your little sister?" he asked. Hana nodded her head, but was a little hesitant as she had never held a baby before. Itachi was great with her and placed Saya in Hana's arms. "Watch the head," he instructed gently, keeping his head under Saya until Hana was comfortable enough to hold her in her lap. Hana beamed as she stared down at her sister, rocking the baby gently. Itachi then took Shisui from my arms, getting to know his son and I relaxed and closed my eyes, ready to sleep. After some time alone, Shizune came to take the babies back to the nursery. Hana was tired and went home to spend the night at Kai's house while Ita stayed at the hospital with me. As I yawned, ready to fall asleep, Itachi kissed my forehead and clasped his hand around mine.

"I love you," I said softly.

Itachi chuckled, "I love you too. And thank you…for making me a father again today."

I smiled as I closed my eyes, drifting to sleep.

* * *

**1 Year Later**

Finally, my scrapbook is done. I saved the last page of a scrapbook to put everyone in our family in. At the center of the page, I've cut out a picture of a table. I spent a while trying to scavenge up some portraits of Aunt Mito, Uncle Hashi, and Mom as cameras were not the most popular thing to use almost a century ago. I took the most recent pictures of each tailed beast I could find (most of which were from the last time they came over for dinner last February for Hana's birthday) and glued them all to the page. I had taken my camera to the local pharmacy the other day to get pictures developed, so now I have photos of Naruto and Sasuke and a photo of Hana, Ita, and I with the twins at the hospital the day they were born to place in the scrapbook along with an old picture of Minato and Kushina. I then dig out an old photo of Kisame and glue it next to a picture of Hana standing next to the fishbowl with her first gold fish that was named after him. I then find pictures of all Naruto's past teachers, from Iruka to Kakashi to Jiraiya and glue them next to a photo of Naruto standing in his Hokage uniform. And finally, I find a family shot of the Uchihas—Sasuke, Ita, Fugaku, Mikoto, Saya, Shisui, and their parents and place them next to Minato and Kushina. The page is crammed full and stands out from all the others, but it's perfect. I smile to myself as I take a marker and write out the words "Family Dinner" at the top.

"There," I say, "Now dinner is ready, Mom."

At that moment, Itachi comes into our room, changing into his ANBU uniform as he asks, "are you ready?"

"Just about," I say. I get up to fasten my headband to my waist like a belt, also decked out in my ANBU uniform. As I finish getting ready, Itachi walks over to the bed and examines the scrapbook.

"You finished it?" Itachi notes with a smile, "but what are you going to do with all those other pictures you've taken?"

I grin and say, "well this scrapbook was what Kushina started to take Naruto and I from the day she and Minato met to the day he and I grow up and start our own families. So, I'll make a scrapbook for Hana, Saya, and Shisui."

Ita starts laughing as he says, "you're going to drive Hana crazy. You know she hates taking pictures."

"She'll thank me for it later," I roll my eyes, "I don't know why though, she's so photogenic."

"She's shy," Itachi explains, "she doesn't perceive herself to be as pretty as others think she is. She's just like her mom in that way."

I eye Itachi skeptically as she wraps his arms around me, both of us staring in the mirror. "What does that mean?" I ask him.

"Ari, you don't like taking photos either," Itachi tells me, "you like taking photos of other people, but how often do you actually get in the shot?"

"Oh shut up!" I snap at him playfully. Itachi laughs and jumps away as I try to shove him. We finish getting ready and then leave the house, drop Saya and Shisui off at the babysitter's, and head up to the Academy.

The students at the academy love it when they get guest speakers, and there are different dates set aside for students, depending on what year they are, to meet different shinobi in a lecture. It has always been a tradition for the Hokage to come and visit the first-year students, but in the past couple of years, different shinobi have visited the school for different reasons. Dad and I usually take one day in December before finals to meet with the fourth-year classes and take them out on a tour of Konoha, even taking them to the mountains a little bit as we give them a lesson on the history of the Bijuu and Konoha. Itachi will meet with the fifth-year students about to graduate and give them a lesson on genjutsu as it is not typically taught at the academy since few shinobi use it in comparison to ninjutsu and taijutsu. And for the second-year students, Ita and I will tag-team and take one day in the beginning of the school year to give a lecture on what it means to be a shinobi. Since we started this lecture, it has become popular among the academy and the students love it when they find out Ita and I are coming, sometimes the older kids will sneak in to hear our lecture again. It's really nothing more than a question answer session and sharing our experiences with the class, but the kids love it (though last year, I could only stay for part of the day as I was big and pregnant, so I kind of abandoned Itachi for the majority of it).

This year is particularly special for Ita and I because Hana was a second-year student at the academy and would get to be a part of our discussion. She was bouncing off the wall this morning, unable to contain her excitement that her parents would be coming to school for the famed Ultimate Tag Team Lecture. We walk hand-in-hand on our way to the Academy, planning on meeting the students just after lunch. Wearing our masks, we use a teleportation jutsu to appear magically before the class, making all the students shriek in surprise. Except for Hana, of course. She recognizes our ANBU masks and only crosses her arms, waiting for us to reveal ourselves.

"I got urgent news," I say, joking around, "the situation is dire and the only way to help is by calling in the Silent and Deadly!" At this point, I remove my mask and all the students start cheering.

Itachi plays along as he takes off his mask and says, "now tell me, who is the one causing you all so much trouble?"

All the kids leap into the air and raise their hands, begging to be picked. Itachi hops around his audience, his sharingan activated as if he actually has to attack someone. He then scoops down and picks up a little boy in the middle of the crowd and carries him on his shoulder as the boy squeals and is carried to the front. He looks over and sees Hana sitting towards the front so, just to tease her, he goes over and grabs her as well, then sits the two up front. I cross my arms and say, "What's this? Not one but _two_ trouble makers? Unbelievable!"

Hana and the little boy are unable to control their laughter as Ita and I pretend to interrogate them, imitating Ibiki from the interrogation corps of ANBU. We play several different role-playing games throughout the session, picking out kids to act out different scenarios like they're shinobi on a mission. We then enter our Q&A session where the kids get to ask us whatever they want and we all talk about what they think it means to be a shinobi and why they want to become one in the first place. And somewhere in the midst of the questions of "how long have you been a shinobi?" "What was your hardest mission?" "How did you and Itachi get to be teammates?" and "How do you guys work together?" there always always comes the one question that everybody wants to hear the answer to and it's usually phrased in one of two ways:

"How did you and Itachi fall in love?" or "Could you tell us the story about you and Itachi?"

This year, it's Kai who asks the question. He and Hana are sitting together and they both scoot forward, eyeing me intently. Hana has heard bits and pieces of the story, at least the parts she was not there for, but I was saving the entirety of this story for this moment. I smile and exchange glances with Ita. As I had left him, he was forced to tell the story by himself last year, so I knew that it was only fair to tell it this time. Besides, I was better at telling the story anyway.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you the story," I say, taking a seat on Iruka's desk, "but before I do, I need you guys to do something for me, okay?"

The entire class nods and I look to the back of the class to find little heads poking through the door as the older students are filing into listen to the story. I smile and continue, "this is a very long story so I have to leave some of it out, but there is a meaning behind every word I say. I want you all to listen well to this story and walk out of here asking yourself what the story has taught you about what it means to be a ninja, okay?"

"Okay!" the all respond.

I smile and cross my arms and say, "well, before I officially begin, I have to tell you a little bit about myself and where I come from. Consider it a prologue to the main story. I will take you all the way from the day I was born to the day our twins were born, so brace yourselves for this tale. Are you ready?"

Growing too excited to contain themselves, all the kids start cheering out, "Yes!"

I laugh as Itachi wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head as I begin to tell the tale of a half-demon and a rogue Uchiha the same way as I have just told you: "I come from a huge family."

**THE END**


End file.
